SasuSaku Month: 2014
by pluhsauce
Summary: My second year participating! / Day Twenty-Seven: Misguided...Sasuke gets so drunk he can't even recognize his own girlfriend. "No! Stop taking your clothes off! I have a girlfriend!"
1. Day One: The Smell of Fresh Paint

**THIS IS MY 2****nd**** YEAR OF DOIN SASUSAKU MONTH!**

**I was really excited from all the positive reviews and stuff last year, so hopefully you guys will enjoy this one as well!**

* * *

Title: The Bench

Summary: It's been a long day at the hospital, and all Sakura wants to do is sit down and rest her legs. Unfortunately, she was so distracted by her teammate that she failed to notice the "wet paint" sign…

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: The Smell of Fresh Paint (Day 1)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

Sakura sighed, running a hand through her messy pink locks as she walked through the hallways of Konoha's hospital. Since Tsunade was away on vacation, almost the entirety of the hospital's responsibilities fell onto Sakura's shoulders, and she certainly didn't appreciate that _on top of _her extensive training. Because of her newly achieved Anbu status, she had to stay in top form, and wasn't allowed to miss a single team practice.

"Miss Sakura!" a nurse shouted. "We need your assistance in room 2A! There's a chunin bleeding out and we need to perform immediate surgery!"

Sakura nodded before sprinting in the direction of the frazzled woman, not one to prioritize leaving early before tending to her patients.

* * *

Overall, Sakura had spent twelve hours in the hospital that day, not including the three hours of training she had done beforehand. She had been awake since 5am, and since her chakra was so depleted, she couldn't even perform a healing jutsu to restore her spirits. The only thing keeping her going was all the cheap black coffee from the hospital break room, and even that wasn't enough.

She left the hospital at 8pm, carrying a stack of paperwork as she walked her way towards her apartment on the other side of the village. Many civilians she passed by on the streets gave her friendly waves, and she felt obliged to force a cheerful grin in response. At times like this, she wished she was Sasuke, who was never expected to fake a smile or a sunny demeanor.

_Speaking of Sasuke…_

With a frown, she recalled this morning's events, when Sasuke joined her team's practice since he had just been allowed to join Anbu (two years since returning to Konoha after the war) and had not been placed on a team yet. Needless to say, it was a little awkward. Her team consisted of Sai and Kiba, and although she loved them to death, their dynamic was a lot different than team 7's.

Sai, of course, had his strange way of interacting with them. His insults ranged from annoying to downright frustrating, and sometimes Sakura forgot that it was his unique way of creating bonds. After all this time, she still flinched every time he called her "ugly," even though Kiba quickly yelled at Sai for doing so.

Kiba was probably Sakura's closest friend after Ino and Naruto, and for good reason. He was pretty much a mix of the two, being both stubborn and vain in the best way possible. To balance out Sai's attitude, he constantly complimented Sakura on practically everything she did, whether it be a new kickass jutsu or how "fantastic" her ass looked in her anbu-regulation spandex leggings.

Usually, she loved team practices. But with Sasuke there, it was just _extremely _awkward.

After the war, she had done her best to avoid seeing him as much as possible, which actually wasn't all that hard since he was always so busy with completing D- and C-ranked missions as community service to alleviate his sentence for his original betrayal of the village. Thankfully due to his help during the Shinobi War, Tsunade was very lenient, but that didn't mean the village accepted him with open arms. In fact, if he weren't so close to many high-ranked shinobi, the newly established council would've probably already petitioned to banish him already.

He came to the practice field twenty minutes early, which was coincidently also the time Sakura showed up to stretch her limbs and prepare herself.

Basically she just tried to go about her stretches as usual, just with the added pressure of feeling Sasuke's intense stare on her the entire time. _Ugh…why does he always have to be so silent? _she had thought nervously, forcing down the blush that sprung up once she saw him in the formfitting anbu uniform.

So by the time Kiba and Sai showed up, Sakura was already quite flustered and definitely not in the mood for physical exertion.

They paired up for the first half of practice: Kiba with Sakura and Sasuke with Sai.

"Sakura! How bout we stick to taijutsu so we can get a little _physical_," Kiba cheekily grinned, earning a light slap on the arm and an unexplained glare from Sasuke.

"How about some genjutsu so we can be as far away as possible?" Sakura teased back, causing Kiba's shoulders to slump comically.

"Ugh…._fine_," he grumbled before getting into a comfortable stance. He needed to improve his genjutsu anyways, so it made sense to work on it.

Meanwhile Sakura couldn't help sparing the occasional glance towards Sai and Sasuke, who also seemed to have decided on sticking to genjutsu. Though she'd never admit it out loud (her fangirl days were _long _over), Sasuke definitely looked his best in the midst of battle with his eyes narrowed and position strong.

Before she knew it, the hours flew by, and she found herself heading over to the hospital, excited to take a shower and change into some clean clothes before her shift started.

* * *

She was only a mile away from her apartment when Sakura saw the last person she wanted to see at the moment. _So much for trying to de-stress after work….._

None other than Sasuke Uchiha was walking on the other side of the street, nearing her at a speed she deemed too fast for her liking.

It would seem very suspicious if she used a jutsu to poof away, not to mention she didn't have much chakra left. She would sprint away, but he was very used to her chakra signature, so he would be able to sense it immediately. And unfortunately, there was no open shop in close proximity where she could duck in and hide.

Salvation came in the form of a pristine white bench, placed ever-so-conveniently on the side of the path.

Sakura strode over to the bench in a matter of seconds, plopping herself down as inconspicuously as possible.

Her nose scrunched up with a sudden sensation. _Why does my butt feel…wet?_

Eyes widening with horror, she realized that she had sat upon a freshly-painted bench, ruining her black skirt as it was covered in white paint.

She yelped as she shot up, glaring at the "WET PAINT" sign she had failed to see before.

Nevertheless, her actions did not go unnoticed by a certain Uchiha.

Since the streets were nearly empty, the strange choking noise filled the late afternoon air, stopping Sakura's panicked thoughts as she searched for the source.

None other than Sasuke Uchiha, still clad in his Anbu uniform, was cracking up laughing, his face twisted into some sort of smile.

Needless to say, Sakura experienced a potent mix of awe and humiliation.

She was about to run away at breakneck speed, but Sasuke caught her arm before she could make her mistake.

The laughter stopped, but a slight smile remained.

"If you're making such obvious mistakes, I think you're working yourself too hard," he observed, more matter-of-fact than concerned. But Sakura knew from her years of experience that this was the closest to worried that Sasuke could usually get.

"It's not like I have a choice!" Sakura protested, a little insulted. "I can handle all of this! It's just temporary! Tsunade will be back in a week and-"

"—and you'll be hospitalized for chakra depletion by then if you keep going at this rate."

Sakura went silent.

"I'll walk you home."

She struggled to keep her mouth from falling open in surprise. "Uh—I really don't live too far away and you really don't need to trouble yourself and I know you live in the opposite direction and-"

"Sakura," he said sternly, cutting off her nervous rant. "I'm taking you home. And if you're going to be this tired the entire time Tsunade is away, I'll do so every night."

Sakura couldn't help her insides from turning to mush at that declaration. _Try not to read too much into it….he is only making sure I don't fail at my anbu duties…try not to think too much…._

She finally obliged, and they started walking without another word being spoken (Not like Sakura expected there to be much conversation. Sasuke had pretty much used up his daily quota of sentences for the day earlier).

When they finally reached the door of Sakura's apartment, she made sure to mutter a hurried "thankyousomuch" as she fumbled for her keys and unlocked the door. But as she walked into her apartment with the sole intention of heading her way to the bedroom to sleep for the next ten hours, Sasuke spoke, so quietly she almost missed it.

"And uh…white paint doesn't look so bad on your—ahem—you know."

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**wtf did I just write. Oh well, I'm more excited about the other prompts for the month anywayz.**


	2. Day Two: Late

**I'm also posting these on my tumblr (pluhsauce), where I also post some other short one-shots and answer any prompt requests! Feel free to check it out!**

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Title: Cardiac Arrest

Summary: Being late meant Sakura had to go over the speed limit and unfortunately resulted in getting a ticket from the most attractive cop she'd ever seen. And her day doesn't get any better when she finds out who exactly her blind date is for that night.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Late (Day 2)

Rating: K

Warnings: none

* * *

Sakura pressed her stiletto-clad foot on the ignition, speeding along the highway as quickly as possible.

While she was getting ready for work, she completely lost track of time, and even though she _looked_ fantastic, she was going to be late, something her supervisor never tolerated.

She hadn't put on her doctor's coat yet, and it lay on the passenger seat along with her overstuffed purse. The only good thing about the morning was that she was wearing her favorite dress, a skintight crimson number that made every curve on her body stand out. After all, she had a blind date right after work, and she wanted to look her best, even if it turned out to be a loser (like the last guy Naruto set her up with).

Suddenly, Sakura heard a sound she had dreaded ever since getting her driver's license ten years ago.

A police siren.

She immediately pulled over to the side of the road, feeling her heart clench with nervousness. Needless to say, she was not the type of person to get tickets, and she _definitely _had never had any run-ins with the law before. The only experience she had with police officers was her friendship with Naruto (who was a well-known policeman), and then again he never really explained exactly what he did at work anyways.

The siren stopped, but the lights kept flashing as the police car pulled up behind her. It was humiliating watching cars drive by on the highway, every driver sparing her a judgmental glance as they passed.

She saw a figure approach her window, and with a shaky sigh, she rolled the window down.

Her heart sunk even further.

_Oh no, he's hot._

The policeman standing just two feet away from her was probably the most attractive man she had seen in a long time, basically fitting the "tall, dark, and handsome" stereotype, complete with the lack of emotion on his handsome face.

"You were going fifteen miles over the speed limit," he said matter-of-factly, his eyes never wavering from her own. She gulped, and had a feeling that her feminine charm wasn't going to be of any use in this situation.

"Oh….uh….sorry, I'm uh—late for work and I might be needed in surgery and-"

"Why would you be needed in surgery?" he asked with a frown, giving her a once-over which only succeeded in making her more nervous. However, as soon as his words sunk in and she realized what he was implying, it suddenly didn't matter how hot this man was.

"I'm a _doctor_," she hissed out. He rolled his eyes, making her narrow her eyes in irritation.

"Sure you are. I need license and registration."

Resisting the urge to drive away, she pulled the required items from her wallet, silently daring him to insult her again.

"You're only 26," he stated. Sakura raised an eyebrow. "So don't go around telling people you're a doctor when you're not even old enough to be."

"I skipped a few grades in high school," Sakura muttered, fists clenched in her lap. She watched him finish writing up a ticket, and he eventually handed her back her things, their fingers brushing as he did so.

She ignored the electrical current that seemed to travel up her arm and stifled the subsequent blush.

He drove away soon after, making her drive the rest of the way to work in a cloud of dread, feeling all sorts of hatred towards that "Officer Sasuke Uchiha" (which she read off the ticket).

* * *

When she got to the hospital, Tsunade had magically not noticed that she was a whole hour late. Apparently she had been nursing a hangover all morning, and wouldn't let anyone in her office until noon. That meant Sakura had several hours to herself, and as she stormed into her office and pulled out a pile of paperwork to complete, she also picked up her cellphone, dialing the only number (besides Ino's) that she had memorized.

_Hey Sakura, what's up?_

"I got a speeding ticket," Sakura groaned into the speaker, holding the phone with one hand as she grabbed a pen and started signing the sheets that required her scribble of a signature.

_Wow! The world must be ending because _the _Sakura Haruno got in trouble with the law!"_

"Shut up," she muttered. "The officer was also so rude! I told him I was speeding because I was late to the hospital, and he kept telling me to stop lying that I was a doctor!"

Naruto laughed, making her wince.

_Well to his credit, Sakura, you definitely look too young and pretty to be a doctor. You seem more like an actress that plays one on tv._

Sakura gritted her teeth. "You're not helping."

_I'm sorry, Sakura! By the way, what was the name of the guy?"_

"Sasuke Uchiha," she sighed, the name forever branded into her brain. Naruto went silent.

_Did you say 'Sasuke Uchiha'?_

"Uh…yeah," Sakura replied. "Why? Do you know him?"

She was met with the sound of awkward laughter.

_My boss just came in the office so I gotta hang up! ByeSakuraandIhopeyouenjoyyourdatetonight!_

Sakura sighed as the line went dead. Naruto could be so confusing sometimes.

* * *

Though her shift was unforgivably long, Sakura never minded seeing the patient she had last on her schedule. Itachi was one of the kindest people she knew, and was the most pleasant patient she had ever had. A few months ago he came in with a disease no other hospital had found the cure for, but Sakura identified it in only a few hours, immediately operating him and restoring his lungs to full function. However, every week she had him come in to make sure he didn't have any symptoms, and to monitor his stress levels. She never asked what he did for a living that put so much strain on his body, but she guessed that he really didn't want to talk about it.

"How are you doing today, Itachi?" she said sweetly, glancing at his chart briefly before looking him over. He was quiet as usual, sitting on the edge of the examination bed with a patient look.

"The medicine you gave me for anxiety has really been helping me," he said, smiling briefly. "I think my blood pressure has gone down."

"That's excellent!" Sakura commented. "I'll just take your vitals to make sure, although I'd like to take your word for it!"

He laughed lightly at her joke, and she was always quite jealous of how he managed to look so dignified all the time, even when she had seen him in a hospital robe before.

She took his blood pressure and heart rate, and to her pleasure, his numbers had actually gone down slightly (as he had guessed).

"Have you been eating a healthy diet as well as taking your medicine?" she asked.

"Of course. I always follow your advice," Itachi responded.

"Your vitals have improved so much over these past months. I'm sure you'll soon be back to your peak health," Sakura assured, picking up a pen so she could write down the stats she had just taken.

Reading the top of the sheet, her hand froze.

Itachi _Uchiha?_

"Uh…Itachi…," she muttered. "By chance are you related to a Sasuke Uchiha?"

Itachi nodded. "That's my little brother. Why do you ask?"

"He gave me a speeding ticket this morning," she said bluntly, still bitter.

Itachi nodded. "That sounds like him. Giving tickets even to the pretty girls."

Sakura blushed. "Thanks, Itachi."

"You're welcome," he nodded, expressionless. "Also, I couldn't help but notice—why are you so dressed up today?"

Sakura breathed out deeply. "My friend Naruto set me up on a blind date after work."

Itachi raised an eyebrow as if he knew something she didn't, then his lips curled into a half-smirk.

"Good luck on the date, Sakura," he spoke as he stood up to leave now that the examination was over. "Don't have too high of expectations."

She narrowed her eyes, not in anger, but in plain confusion. But Sakura didn't have too long to dwell on it, since she happened to glance at the clock and realized she had fifteen minutes to take the twenty-minute drive to the restaurant she was supposed to meet her date.

_Today really isn't my day…._she thought sadly to herself as she ran the rest of her paperwork to her office and quickly made it to her car in the employee parking lot.

* * *

By the time she made it to the restaurant, she was thirty minutes late, and she half-expected her date to have left already. Naruto didn't give him her number, but said he'd be sitting in the corner of the café with a dark grey shirt on and black hair.

Scanning the building with her green eyes, she nearly gaped with horror as she saw a certain someone sitting at a table by himself.

None other than Sasuke Uchiha—sipping a mug of coffee with a disgruntled look on his face. _Hopefully my date isn't sitting too close to him. _Sakura thought. _It would be so awkward if he saw me._

Looking around once more, she came to realize two things:

The first, that there weren't made people in the room. Probably only four other couples.

The second, that all the other male occupants were definitely _not _wearing dark grey, and not a single one had dark hair.

She gulped and looked back at Sasuke.

Sure enough, he was wearing the aforementioned shirt, and she already knew that he sported a shaggy black hairstyle, even if it was partially covered by his uniform hat before.

Cautiously, she asked a waitress how long he had been there.

"Oh, about thirty minutes!" the middle-aged woman chirped happily, giving her a bright smile. "Are you the woman he is waiting for?"

"I guess so," Sakura grumbled before gathering the courage to walk over.

He only noticed her when she was a foot away from the table, still standing as she looked at him skeptically.

"Are you Naruto's friend?" she asked slowly, to which he nodded. Sakura sat down reluctantly.

"You're thirty minutes late," he observed. Did he remember her from before? He certainly didn't give any indication of it.

"I was with a patient," she explained, glancing over the menu to successfully avoid eye contact.

"Naruto told me you were a doctor."

"So you believe me now?" Sakura couldn't help but add, making him smirk. (which was definitely not her expected reaction)

"I guess. Naruto always talks about you. It's ridiculous."

"What else does he say?" Sakura asked, a bit nervous. _Thanks a lot, Naruto._

"That you were valedictorian, you've known my uncle Kakashi since you were little, and that you just came out of a long-distance relationship with some doctor named Shi."

Sakura flushed. "Uh—okay. More information than I thought you'd know."

"And that you saved Itachi's life."

Her face softened as she saw the brief expression of gratitude that crossed his face.

"Itachi is one of my best patients. He was actually the person I was seeing before this."

"So that's why he texted me that you'd be my date," Sasuke shrugged. "You must've told him you had a blind date, and he knew I was going on one at the same time, so he just concluded that we were matched up."

Thankfully the waitress chose that moment to intervene, so Sasuke didn't see how Sakura bit her lip when he said they were "matched up."

Their orders weren't anything special, and after the woman left, Sakura nervously sipped her water.

"I didn't know what you looked like before you walked in. I never would've expected the Sakura Naruto always talked about would be the type to go way over the speed limit.

Sakura wanted to crawl in a hole a die.

"Can we please not mention that ever again?"

"And then you were late here, as well. Are you late to everything?" he asked, and she wasn't sure if he was teasing or not.

"Today's the first day I've ever been late to work in my entire life," she admitted, and he gave her a look of approval.

"You're exactly how Naruto described," he said off-handedly, making Sakura wonder just how she had been described as.

The rest of the meal went surprisingly well, and Sakura soon found herself ready to give Naruto a big hug of appreciation the next time she saw him.

* * *

_How'd it go? _Naruto said on the other line.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, opening the door to his apartment and stepping inside. Since Sakura had driven to the restaurant herself, he didn't have the option of driving her home, although he would love to see her reaction to how he had used his police car to drive there.

_That's not a real answer, Sasuke. _Naruto whined. _How did it go? Did she wear that one red dress of hers? I mean, I love her like a sister, but that her in that dress is literally one of the sexiest things in the entire wo—_

"She's impressive. And I realize why Itachi likes her so much."

_I'm gonna be honest, Sasuke. I can actually see you guys working out in a relationship._

Sasuke nodded.

_Did you just nod? You do realize I can't see you do that through the phone!_

"Hn."

_Heh…you can't fool me, Uchiha! I _know _that you like her already! Did you get her number?_

"Technically I had it before when I had to collect it for her speeding ticket."

_Sasuke you are so weird. _Naruto sighed._ Just call her, you bastard. Otherwise I'll get Gaara or something to take her out instead._

Sasuke frowned deeply. "Don't."

_Awwww…You're already getting possessive! You guys are so _cute…..

"I'm hanging up," Sasuke said sharply before ending the call. He sat for a few seconds in silence before opening his phone contact list and scrolling down to the "S" names.

Not that he'd ever admit it, but he had never been more thankful for Naruto.

* * *

**I was originally going to do an angsty one-shot, but then this guy I have a semi-crush on texted me, and it put me in a happy mood.**

**Onto the next prompt!**


	3. Day Three: Phobia

**I'm surprised I've made it this far without writing some good old angst! Not sure if tomorrow ("There Was No Warning") will be angsty, cutsey, or funny, so if you want to influence my decision, just review with your vote and I'll do whatever you guys say. (;**

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Title: The Fear

Summary: Autophobia (the fear of being alone or of oneself)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Phobia (Day Three)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

Sakura had a secret, one she had to keep entirely for herself because if she ever told someone, they probably wouldn't take her seriously.

They wouldn't be able to understand how severe it had gotten.

At the moment, Sakura was sitting by herself in her large apartment, tears streaming down her face as she sat on the bed in fetal position. She knew how to fix this, but she didn't really have many options. It was too late to head to a bar, and all of her friends were most likely asleep. So she stood herself up slowly, making her way towards the kitchen that she rarely used.

She pulled out a bottle of clear liquid, which thanks to Tsunade, she had an endless supply of. Her mentor never questioned how quickly she went through her supply, since she probably assumed Sakura shared it with the many friends she always surrounded herself with.

Pouring a generous amount into a glass, she took a swig, wincing at the taste. But the warming effect felt like a familiar hug and it soothed her. It helped take her mind off of how alone she was, and how no one seemed to care enough to keep her company when she needed it most.

As she finished the liquid in a few more swift gulps, she immediately felt better than before. She headed back to bed to change into her nightclothes, stumbling a bit as the alcohol took into effect. But nevertheless, it helped her relax, and she felt more at ease when she went under the covers, ignoring the frantic thoughts running through her mind over the recent events in her life.

Naruto had left for training in Suna, Ino was on vacation in tea country with the rest of her team, Kiba was on a mission, and Hinata was entirely wrapped up with clan meetings and politics.

She had never felt more alone.

The rest of the month would be pure torture, and she still had three more weeks to go.

* * *

The next day, Sakura was all smiles at the hospital. She had spent a few hours in the morning punching holes into the trees on one of the training fields, and her pent-up emotions had dissipated as she felt the blood ooze from her knuckles.

(Though it only took a few seconds to heal her skin, she wished there was a medical jutsu for healing pain on the inside as well)

But she didn't have time to complain since there were patients to tend to and paperwork to fill out. She could feel her stomach growl in protest at her third day in a row of skipping lunch, but she ignored it.

_Not like I have anyone to go eat with anyways…_she thought bitterly.

The rest of the day went by far too quickly for her liking, since more free time meant more time sitting in her apartment pretending she didn't feel ignored.

Sakura stopped by the market on her way back, picking out a few vegetables that she probably wouldn't end up eating anyways. Her diet for the past few days had been mostly black coffee and alcohol since her sense of hunger seemed to go away along with her friends.

_If they were your _real _friends, they wouldn't leave you alone._

* * *

That night found Sakura crying on her bed once more. She kept the window open, feeling the cold air blow against her exposed skin. Wearing only a bra and panties, the wind felt almost like a gentle caress.

The familiar bottle of alcohol was in her hand, almost empty.

_I'm always the one left behind. _Sakura cried to herself, hot tears pooling from her half-lidded eyes.

Since there was no one around, she allowed herself to sob aloud, the choked noise sounding out-of-place during such a peaceful Konoha night.

_I shouldn't even be feeling sorry for myself. There are people in the world dying in battle_, _and here I am crying over just being all by myself._

Seeing that there wasn't really much else to ponder (and the bottle was almost gone anyways), Sakura curled up under her covers, only having the energy to pull the sheets up to cover her lower half.

* * *

Sasuke walked briskly to Sakura's apartment, cursing himself for forgetting something trivial. He was required to have the head doctor's signature on his paperwork to begin missions again, and since Tsuande was gone for who-knows-how-long, he had to find his ex-teammate in the middle of the night.

She probably wouldn't even be awake, but he didn't think she'd be angry if he woke her up. After all, he couldn't recall the last time he asked a favor of her.

Well actually…he couldn't recall the last time he had even spoken to the pink-haired girl.

Even though it had been a few years since he had returned to the village, Sakura's interactions with him were very few, giving him the impression that she just wanted to avoid him for as long as possible. And for now, he let her, since he knew she'd grow out of it eventually.

After all, she had pledged her devotion to him before, so there was no reason for him to think otherwise.

When he got to her door, there was no response to the first few knocks, so he tried again.

Nothing.

With a sigh, Sasuke moved onto plan B.

* * *

Lucky for him, Sakura's window was already open.

_Tch. Even if she's an S-level shinobi, she should at least take basic safety precautions._

He expected her to wake up immediately as soon as his chakra presence was near, but to his surprise, she didn't stir one bit in her sleep.

Curious, Sasuke went over to examine the reason.

The first thing he noticed made him feel a little uncomfortable, since he hadn't really seen Sakura with just a bra on before. But with her position, it didn't seem sexual at all. Instead, she looked vulnerable…almost breakable.

The second thing that stood out was the spilled bottle on the bottom of her bed, though there didn't look to be much liquid left in the first place. It smelled quite obviously of alcohol, which confirmed why she didn't wake up when he entered.

However, something within Sasuke decided that he needed to see for himself what she looked like mid-slumber, so he walked up to the side of the bed, dark eyes never leaving her shivering form.

Her skin was just as pale and flawless as it had been when they were younger, a few strands of pink hair hanging over her face. And as he looked more intensely, he could see the wetness on her cheeks, meaning that she had only fallen asleep recently.

So what was Sakura doing, crying and drinking at 3am?

Hearing a breathy whimper, Sasuke looked her over once more as she shifted in her sleep.

_Hopefully her dreams are better than whatever was keeping her up before_…he thought, feeling a distinct pang of something in his chest.

Realizing there was no way he would be able to wake her up without feeling a massive amount of guilt, he just left the unsigned form on her nightstand so that she'd see it in the morning.

As he was about to leave, he took another glance back.

She looked so cold….

Sasuke pulled the covers up so that they were up to her chin, shielding her from the cool night air. Then, he did something definitely out-of-character.

He lightly pressed his lips against her smooth cheek, pausing for a few seconds as he inhaled the sweet scent coming off of her hair.

_Goodnight, Sakura._

* * *

**I was listening to the song "My Body is a Cage" on repeat for almost the entire time I was reading this and it kinda shows. (but it's an amazing song omg)**


	4. Day Four: There Was No Warning

**I made this one happy at an anon's request! (I put Ino in this one, and I'll make sure to put Itachi in a chapter soon)**

**Also, was my story featured somewhere (like on tumblr or w/e)? Because I had a three-hour shift at work, and during that time I got a ton of emails from followers/favorites/reviews. It really boosted my mood after such a stressful day at work (:**

* * *

Title: Caught in the Act

Summary: One camping trip finds Sasuke and Sakura getting well acquainted with their tent while they think Ino and Shikamaru are gone. AU

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: There Was No Warning (day 4)

Rating: M (the lemony kind)

Warnings: none

* * *

The night sky was clear and the air was brisk. They hadn't seen a single mosquito, and the fire kept them feeling cozy.

Full on marshmallows and hot dogs, the four 19-year-olds just sat around the campfire, their two tents nearby as they simply chatted about how their summers have been so far.

They had all finished their first year of college, and although they all attended the same school, it had still been awhile since they went out on a weekend with each other. Hinata and Naruto couldn't make it, but it was still nice to have some of the gang all together.

Ino had been interning at a magazine for the summer, and Shikamaru was working in his dad's office. Sasuke was taking a bunch of online classes to get some more credits for school, and Sakura had two part-time jobs while also volunteering at the local hospital.

Needless to say, they had all been quite busy.

"…and that's how I secured the interview!" Ino bubbled, telling them all about how she had gotten an important political official to make a few statements for an article. She was sitting comfortably in Shikamaru's lap while he absent-mindedly played with her long platinum hair.

Sakura inwardly sighed at how close those two were, meanwhile Sasuke was sitting a foot away, just staring into the fire. She was wearing her favorite cut-off jean shorts and a crop-top that showed a few inches of her taut abdomen. Though on the outside, Sasuke didn't seem to care how hot she looked.

Although she loved him to death, it would bother her how distant he seemed in public. All of the boyfriends she had in high school gladly held her hand in the hallways and didn't care if they kissed in public. Sakura wanted to mention it to Sasuke, but it just seemed like an awkward subject to approach.

_"Hey, our relationship works really really well and I obviously like you, but would it kill you to touch me in front of other people?"_

She hoped that he would slowly warm up to the idea without her prodding, since she did realize that he had never been in a relationship before, so he didn't really know how to go about it.

Sakura would always remember how nervous he was when they first had sex. He kept asking her if he was doing it right, and every time she laughed at how endearing it was, he thought she was making fun of him.

"Are we out of food?" Shikamaru said bluntly, drawing Sakura out of her thoughts.

Sasuke nodded in confirmation.

"Ugh I barely even got to eat any marshmallows," Ino groaned, rubbing her stomach with mock hurt and lightly hitting Shikamaru's arm. "You and Sasuke basically ate all of them."

"It's weird how you love marshmallows," Sakura smiled to Sasuke. "You normally hate sweet things."

"Hn."

She rolled her eyes. _Social as always._

"I can get more right now, I guess," Shikamaru sighed. "How troublesome…"

"I'll go with!" Ino grinned. "That way I get to pick out what _I _want!"

Shikamaru frowned, but went along with it as he grabbed his girlfriend's hand to help her up. And as they walked away towards the car parked a few hundred meters away, Sakura stood up as well, going into the tent without saying a word.

She stayed for a few minutes, knowing Sasuke would soon follow. Naturally, he was curious as to what she was doing, so it only took a little while before he pulled down the zipper to go inside.

What he found was Sakura sitting on top of her sleeping bag, clad only in her shorts and a lacey red bra that he recognized as the one Ino had given her for her birthday last year.

"Sakura, what are you-"

"Are you embarrassed of me?" she asked suddenly, making him raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"What?"

"Why don't you ever get close to me in public?" she pouted, and he couldn't help but notice the hurt in her eyes.

"I didn't know you wanted me to," Sasuke admitted. Had she been worried about this during the entire relationship? You'd think she'd mention it earlier in the past year…

"Of course I do," she confirmed, crawling over to where he sat and pushing a stray piece of hair that had fallen over his lips. "Ino always tells me that it looks like you don't care about me."

"That's not true," he breathed out as her small fingers trailed their way down to the bottom of his shirt. He raised his arms up as she quickly lifted it off, exposing his chest to the night air.

Her expression broke into an impish grin, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him in for a searing kiss.

Sasuke could feel the earlier tension in his body dissipate as Sakura rubbed her fingers gently down his back, her touch warm and soft. When she pressed her body against his, the skin-on-skin contact made him shiver, and for a second he almost forgot what they were talking about earlier.

_Oh yeah. She wanted me to touch her more._

(he sure didn't have a problem with that)

Pushing back Sakura so she was lying on the thick sleeping bag, Sasuke hovered over her as their lips still connected, loving the feel of her body underneath his.

He suddenly pulled back, giving her a heated look that made her feel warm and buzzy on the inside.

"Now that you gave me permission, I'm never going to _stop _touching you."

Sakura laughed at that, landing a few light kisses on his toned midsection. When she started moving her hand lower, he had a sharp intake of breath, making her smile wider.

He started unbuttoning her shorts, and after a nod of confirmation from Sakura, he pulled them off as quickly as possible.

Their bodies molded together as she sighed in pleasure, pressing their lips together once more as Sasuke's hands traveled down her responsive body.

Before they could react, Shikamaru unassumingly stuck his head inside the tent, which was left unzipped from before.

"We got the f-"

He then realized what he had walked in on, and his eyes widened in horror as he stumbled away from the tent's opening.

Sakura let out a surprised yelp and pushed Sasuke off of her, struggling to pull on her clothing as quickly as possible.

"Oh my god he is totally going to tell Ino holy shit Shikamaru literally just saw us like that he is going to tell _everyone _that'ssoembarrasing, I ca-"

"Sakura," Sasuke grunted. She stopped her nervous rant.

"I thought you _wanted _people to see us?" he smirked, his shirt still off and abs on full display.

Sakura's cheeks flushed a dark red.

"Not like _that_!"

They could hear Ino gasp from outside the tent.

"They were doing _what?_"

Sasuke let out an irritated sigh.

"We can stay in here if you want," Sakura told him comfortingly, giving him a warning look when Sasuke put his hand on her upper thigh. "But we're keeping it PG."

"Fine," Sasuke agreed.

"Okay!" Sakura chirped, opening her sleeping bag so she could try to get some sleep after all of these events.

"…but we're continuing where we left off as soon as we get back to Konoha."

* * *

**lol where did this even come from. Not based on a true story, unfortunately. (though if there any cute boys reading this, hmu)**


	5. Day Five: Keepsake

**Two more days until my birthday (I'm so excited)**

* * *

Title: You Belong With Me

Summary: Through the entirety of their relationship, Sasuke's parents kept reminding him that Itachi was a better choice for his girlfriend. So he finds an old keepsake that will prove them (and everyone else) wrong.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Keepsake (day 5)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

If there was one thing Sasuke's parents had ever agreed on, it was Sakura Haruno.

The Haruno's had been their next-door neighbors for as long as he could remember, and he grew up alongside the pink-haired girl, somehow surviving the ups and downs of their friendship that at some point turned into an actual relationship.

His parents _loved _her.

Sakura was attractive, smart, and nice to everyone. She was a good girl that rarely broke the rules and busied herself with her studies. Needless to say, his mother was obsessed with her, and often he'd come home to a note from his mother saying "_I'll be back by 5! I'm out shopping with Saku~!"_

However, there was one issue…Sasuke's parents didn't think that he deserved her.

See, ever since middle school, his parents were _convinced_ that Sakura would be perfect for Itachi, his older brother who had been studying in France (and never came home to visit). They talked about it all the time, and it was getting to the point where Sasuke wanted to just run away and live with Naruto or something until High School was over.

He never told Sakura.

It was better she didn't know.

After all, his entire life was spent in Itachi's shadow. Although he knew that Sakura loved him, what if she could love Itachi _more_? What if she got tired of putting up with him and left him for his brother?

_No, she would never do that._

But the worry was still there.

* * *

_"What do you mean you can't think of an anniversary present?" _Naruto bellowed over the phone, clearly confused why Sasuke Uchiha decided that the best time to find a present for his one-year anniversary was the night before. _"You have 24 hours to find something amazing, sentimental, and pretty that makes her remember why she wants to stay with you!"_

"I think you're reading too much into this," Sasuke frowned. "Sakura has never made any indication that she cares for anniversaries or holidays."

_"Are you an idiot? For your birthday she planned a huge surprise party! She buys her Christmas presents in October! She really cares about this kind of stuff!"_

"I'll think of something," Sasuke grumbled. He really didn't like being reminded that Naruto would pick up on things Sakura did that Sasuke never even realized. It reminded him of middle school, where Naruto had such a crush on her that he asked her out every single day.

_"Well you need to get on that soon, man. If you have something shitty, trust me…your parents will find out, and they will be even more upset about you guys' relationship."_

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Of course, Naruto was right, as much as he hated him for bringing it up. Mikoto was sure to grill Sakura about the gift, and Sakura would feel obliged to tell her everything she wanted to know.

"Do you have any ideas?"

_"Uh…not anything that can be done last minute….." _Naruto admitted _"But do you guys have any souvenirs of stuff? Old love letters? Stuff like that?"_

Sasuke snorted. "Do I really seem like the type to write love letters?"

_"I don't know your personal life! You're the one asking for help!"_

"What did you get Hinata for _your _anniversary?"

Naruto let out a loving sigh that made Sasuke roll his eyes.

_"I took her to this rooftop bistro in downtown Konoha that she had always wanted to go to, and I bought her a locket with a really cute picture of us in it-"_

"You sound like a love-sick middle school girl," Sasuke said bluntly.

_"Well you know what?" _the blonde protested. _"That's exactly the way it should be! Your relationship should make you feel like a love-sick middle school girl!"_

"You're just making that up so that you sound deep."

_"….you're right_._"_

"So let me get this straight…you don't have any ideas for me?" Sasuke asked one final time, pacing around his bedroom while avoiding looking out the window. When he had peeked out earlier, he saw Sakura's room light still on, and through the curtains you could see the outline of her sitting at her desk, most likely working on homework.

He really didn't want to disappoint her. (or his parents)

_"Sorry. I'll leave you be so that you have time to think," _Naruto finalized, hanging up soon after. With that, Sasuke slid onto his bed, throwing his phone on the floor with a petulant expression on his handsome face.

Suddenly, his eyes widened.

_Do I still have—_

He jumped up from the bed and walked over quickly to his bookshelf, pulling out a thick text from the bottom and hurriedly flipping through the pages. During his search, a tattered scrap of paper fell out, which he grasped at with a triumphant smirk.

_Perfect._

* * *

Sakura pouted at her desk, wondering why she had decided that it would be okay to procrastinate getting an anniversary present for Sasuke. True, she had been swamped with essays and reading assignments lately, but it really wasn't like her to wait until the last few days to pick something out.

Tearing her eyes from the computer screen, she looked at the sealed envelope next to her with a worried look.

_Hopefully he won't think it's dumb._

* * *

So far their plans had gone perfectly. Sasuke picked her up at her house so they could drive to a wonderful French restaurant on the other side of town, both of them dressed nicely and exchanging nervous smiles. The food was good, but their conversation wasn't very captivating, since they both were preoccupied with the exact same worry: the gift.

Sasuke finally took it upon himself to muster his courage as Sakura finished her last spoonful of crème brulee.

"I…-ahem-….have something for you," he muttered, holding an envelope in his lap, out of her sight.

"Are you about to propose?" Sakura joked. "Should I be looking for a ring in my glass?"

He shook his head.

"Uh…here you go," he said a little awkwardly, passing her the paper and watching as she gently tore it open and slid out the single piece of paper inside.

Her eyes widened.

_Sakura,_

_I think u ar realy prety and nice and you smell lik flours. My mom is helping me write this becuse she says I am not a gud writer. But I would lik to ask u to be my girlfriend and maybe my wife someday an have lottsa kids_

_Your boyriend,_

_Sasuke_

"…..wow," Sakura stammered out once she finished reading. "How long ago did you write this?"

"Kindergarten," Sasuke admitted, cheeks flushed the slightest shade of pink. "I just never ended up giving it to you."

"That's so strange…" Sakura said softly, making him wince.

"Why?"

She handed him an envelope of her own, though hers was decidedly more fancy-looking.

He opened it, curious as to why she reacted that way.

_Dear diary,_

_There is this really cute boy who lives next door and I think I have a crush. Like a big one. I want to write him a letter but I don't know if he likes me back. I hope he does, though! I'm going to ask him to come over and play on our new swings. If he says yes, I know we're gonna be together forever!_

_Love SAKURA_

Sasuke gaped uncharacteristically, making Sakura giggle.

"It's such a weird coincidence!"

"You're right," he admitted. "When did you write this?"

"Kindergarten," Sakura smiled warmly. "I was apparently a more advanced writer than you."

Sasuke chuckled, running a hand through his messy hair.

"My mom will get a big kick out of this. Did she tell you to give me that?"

"No…" Sakura answered. "I usually don't tell her too much about our relationship. I just always got the feeling that you didn't want her knowing everything about us."

Sasuke could hit himself.

All this time he thought Sakura was telling his mother every single flaw in their relationship, when he really had nothing to worry about.

* * *

The rest of the meal was wonderful since the awkward tension had lifted and they both had reached an even stronger understanding of the other. Sasuke was so content that on the drive home he let Sakura play the top 40 radio station (and didn't even make a single complaint).

When he pulled into her driveway, it was already late at night and he knew that no matter how much Sakura would deny it, she was exhausted. So he walked her up to her door, then sharing a chaste kiss (nothing too heavy, since her parents could be spying from the upstairs windows).

But as she was opening the door, Sasuke asked something he had been thinking about since dinner.

"When you asked me to come over to play on your swings….what was my answer?"

Sakura paused, giving him an impish grin before turning back around.

"Look on the back of the paper."

And with that, she went inside, leaving him on the doorstep scrambling to pull the sheet from before out of his pocket.

_Dear diary,_

_HE SAID YES ! Now he is mine forever ! MWAHAHA_

* * *

**I cut my finger earlier today so it hurts to type but oh well. No pain, no gain!**


	6. Day Six: Night In

Title: Making Connections

Summary: A game of truth-or-dare leaves Sakura having to choose between asking out Sasuke or dying her hair blue.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Night In (day 6)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

The six girls sat in a lopsided circle, all clad in their pajamas with their hair up in sloppy ponytails. Soda cans littered the room, as well as a few empty pizza boxes strewn about.

Temari and Ino had triumphant smirks, Tenten looked vaguely disinterested, and Karin was preoccupied with texting. Sakura had a concerned look on her face, and Hinata's cheeks were flushed and she looked like she wanted to run away.

"Is it my turn yet?" Ino said with saccharine-sweetness, flicking her blue eyes over to Sakura before quickly looking away.

_Oh shit. _Sakura inwardly groaned. Ino definitely had a knack for creating the most embarrassing dares.

When she had first come over to Hinata's house that night, she thought that they would just be eating junk food and watching low-budget movies all night while whining about their love lives. But _noooo_…..Ino just _had _to suggest truth-or-dare, and of course Temari backed her up on her suggestion.

Now Sakura was usually all for the idea, but since they all knew each other so well already, they decided on skipping the "truth" option and making the game just "dare-or-dare." It certainly didn't help that ever since Ino had started hanging out with Sai, she would constantly give her looks of "I know something you don't!" And Sakura had a feeling that whatever Ino knew about her would surface as soon as it was her turn.

So far, the game was pretty tame, but she knew things would pick up.

"No, it's my turn!" Tenten protested, drawing everyone's eyes to her. "And my dare goes to…Karin!"

The redhead glanced up from her phone screen, frowning slightly.

"What?"

"You're getting a dare!" Ino explained, glaring at her phone.

"Your dare is to tell us who you've been texting this entire time!" Tenten declared.

"No one," Karin said too quickly, making every girl in the room smile knowingly.

"I think I can guess," Sakura laughed. Karin clutched the phone to her chest protectively.

"Come on, Karin," Temari added. "Even _Hinata _knows."

The aforementioned girl sheepishly nodded. "You and Suigetsu have been very close recently."

Karin's entire face reddened.

"D-don't tell anyo-"

"Of course we won't!" Ino assured with an evil grin, which didn't serve to cheer up Karin in the slightest. "But now we have more important business to attend to!"

"Which is…?"

"No one has dared Sakura so far!" the platinum-blonde girl pouted. "How boring!"

Sakura's face dropped. "You don't _have _to give me any dares…"

"Of course we do!" Temari yelped, slapping Sakura on the back. "And Ino and I have the perfect one for you!"

"…you do?" Sakura grumbled. "How sweet of you."

"And the perfect punishment if you try to back out of it!"

Everyone in the circle looked at Sakura expectantly.

"Um okay. What's my dare?"

If Ino's pervious look had been evil, the one she had _now _was purely diabolical.

"You are going to go over to Sasuke's house and ask him out on a date!"

Sakura felt her heart stop.

_This is it._

_This is how I die._

"Or what?" Hinata asked sweetly, probably seeing the horror in Sakura's eyes and wanting to help.

"Or little Miss Sakura Haruno will be getting a bright blue pixie-cut!"

"Ino!" Sakura gasped. "You wouldn't!"

"Oh yes she would!" Temari supported.

Sakura sat in shock, the other girls watching her having an internal conflict over the whole situation.

She was silent for a good minute, and just as they considered that Sakura was about to choose the last option….

"….Fine! I'll go over to his house right now and get this over with!"

* * *

The Uchihas didn't live very far away, so it only took a little while to get to Sasuke's house. And by the time she got there, Sakura was in full panic-mode.

_I should've put on some more mascara or something oh my god I look like a mess_

She also didn't realize until now that she hadn't changed back into normal clothes before she left Ino's house, so she was basically standing on the Uchiha's doorstep at 10pm in red short-shorts and a grey "Konoha University" tshirt that was two sizes too big.

_Well, fuck. It's now or never; I'm not going to be dying my hair blue tonight!_

Knock. Knock.

Three seconds passed before Sakura decided to try again.

Knock. Knock.

_Oh thank god, he isn't home. Now I get to go back and don't have to dye my hair blue and I also don't have to absolutely humiliate myse—_

The door opened.

"Hello?" Sasuke frowned, before taking in who exactly it was standing on his doorstep. His eyebrows rose. "Sakura? What are you doing here?

"DID YOU SAY SAKURA WAS AT THE DOOR!" a voice cried out from a back room, which Sakura quickly identified as Suigetsu. And sure enough, he sprinted forward, bringing along _another _person: Sai.

Sasuke sighed in irritation at the arrival of the other two, and trained his eyes on Sakura's lightly trembling form.

_oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no this cannot be happening ! _Sakura panicked, trying to maintain a cool façade while she was pretty much dying on the inside.

Would it be rude to just sprint away now? Or would they just think she was crazy? At this point, Sakura didn't even know if she cared, as long as she was back inside Ino's house to scream at the blonde for how awful her dare was.

"Nice outfit, Ugly," Sai smiled, and the only thing keeping Sakura from punching him in the face was that has had a crush on Sasuke since elementary school, and didn't want to give him an even worse impression.

"Awww, Sakura! You look really cute!" Suigetsu added, unknowingly saving himself from Sakura's mental list of "people I need to punch." (Ino was #1)

And she _definitely _did not like having three attractive males stare her down in her pajamas.

"Do you need something?" Sasuke asked her, making Sakura bite her lip uncomfortably.

"Uh..I just need to ask you something, Sasuke," she grumbled out, trying to sound super casual and not like she was obsessed with him.

(even though she kind of was)

"Hn."

"And…I….um….would rather that Sai and Suigetsu leave," she said pointedly, subtly glaring at the two. She was practically withering under Sasuke's intense gaze.

"Why?" Suigetsu asked simply, to which she had no answer.

"Er-"

"Yeah, Sakura. Whatever it is, you should be able to say in front of all of us," Sai agreed.

_Whatever I did in a past life to deserve this, I am completely sorry, and I would like to please ask for forgiveness._

"So…Sasuke…," she muttered out, shifting the weight on her legs while fiddling with the hem of her baggy tshirt.

"…yes?" he responded, confused why she was taking so long.

"Do you…uh….want to…um…." Sakura took a sharp intake of breath before squeezing all the words out as quickly as possible. "doyoumaybewanttogoonadatesometimeorsomething?"

There was a tense silence as Sakura fought her instinct to stare at the ground.

"Give me your phone," Sasuke asked, and without hesitation Sakura handed it over as quickly as possible. _Is he going to throw my phone on the ground or something to teach me a lesson? I shouldn't have done that, I should've—_

She noticed that, instead of any tossing movements, Sasuke's fingers were busy tapping away at the screen. And after a minute or so, he handed it back to her with no explanation.

"Thank you," he said simply.

The two boys behind him gave each other a look, but overall Sakura was just very confused by the whole exchange. What just happened? Should she be embarrassed? Should she go tell her mom that they needed to move to Suna by the end of the week?

"Goodnight," he added before slowly closing the door.

She really had no other choice but to walk back to Ino's and try to begin to explain the whole situation. Absentmindedly, she went to check her "most recently opened" applications on her phone, only to see that Sasuke must have been looking through her messages.

_Oh no._

She had so many past conversations about him (only to Ino, usually), and all he would have to do was to just scroll through their past conversations for a few seconds until something mortifying came up.

However, to Sakura's pleasant shock, her most recent text from Ino was unread, which meant that Sasuke had not opened theirs at all. So what _did _he do?

Her phone vibrated, signaling a new text from an unknown number, and all it said was "hey."

Confused, Sakura saw that _she _was the one who texted the number first. But when did she se—

"it's Sasuke," the next message read.

Sakura pretty much screamed with excitement.

* * *

"That was a mean trick, Ino," Hinata muttered, the girls all sitting in the exact same spot as they were before when Sakura was still there.

"Oh come on," the blonde sighed. "When Sai told me last month that Sasuke had a secret crush on Sakura, I knew I had to do _something _to speed things up!"

"Hey, guys!" Karin interrupted, eyes wide and staring at her phone screen. "Suigetsu just texted me! Sasuke totally gave Sakura his number!"

"NO WAY!" Temari grinned. "How did it happen? Was it cute?"

Karin took a few seconds to type out the question, and they patiently waited for a response. The redhead laughed at the message Suigetsu sent.

"He said it was really awkward, so it's a good thing Sasuke already liked her and that she looked cute in her pajamas."

As if on cue, Sakura burst open the door with renewed vigor.

"YOU GUYS WILL NEVER GUESS WHAT JUST HAPPENED!" she declared loudly.

"Tell us everything," Ino said innocently. "And don't spare a _single_ detail."

* * *

**tomorrow is my birthday heck ya**


	7. Day Seven: Night Out

**Sorry for being two days late! July 7****th**** was my birthday and I was away from my computer the entire day. But this prompt is semi-inspired by this haunted road my friends and I drove on last night. There's supposedly a disappearing mansion next to White Cemetery (creepy name, too), orbs of light, disappearing cars, and phantom hitchhikers. (we didn't see a single thing, so whatever)**

* * *

Title: Uchiha Manor

Summary: Sakura gets challenged to spend a night in Uchiha Manor, the most haunted place in Konoha. Thankfully, she found someone to help her through the night.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Night Out (day 7)

Rating: T

Warnings: not really that scary at all, but a ghost story nonetheless

* * *

It was 10 pm and Sakura already wanted to go home.

She hadn't even been inside the house yet, but the between the decrepit exterior and all of the stories her "friends" had told to prepare her for the night, the fear finally caught up to her. Usually she didn't really care about ghost stories, which is probably why she even agreed to do this in the first place. Armed with a camera, a phone, and a few granola bars, she still had nine hours to go before she could go back to her house.

With a groan, she remembered how stupid she was accepting this challenge.

_Sakura and her friends all sat outside on a grassy area in front of their school, eating lunch and talking about whatever they felt like. It was mid-October, so it was still warm enough to get away with only wearing jeans and a light sweater._

_"Ugh, I heard the most awful story the other day," Ino said suddenly, pausing from the water she was gulping down. "There was this group of kids from Sound that went to Uchiha Manor over the weekend and they haven't come back yet."_

_"They've been gone for three days?" Tenten gasped. "Has anyone gone looking for them?"_

_"Yeah, but no one wants to search inside that place! It's creepy as hell!" the blonde exclaimed. _

_"Oh…that one house with the cemetery kinda near it?" Sakura asked casually, taking a bite of her sandwich. Unlike most of the teens around her, she didn't really seem to be freaked out by the possibility of paranormal happenings. _

_"That's the one," Kiba nodded. "I would rather die than stay in _that _house. No one's lived there since the original family."_

_"What's so bad about it?" Sakura frowned. "It's just a house."_

_Rock Lee's mouth dropped open. "Sakura! That place is super haunted! People that go in there swear they never want to come back again!"_

_"So? I've heard those stories too. Everyone claims they've seen something, but no one's has the same story. People just like to make up stuff to get attention."_

_ Tenten sighed. "But you have to admit it looks terrifying from the outside…I definitely wouldn't like to see the inside."_

_"There's no need to worry, Tenten!" Sakura chimed in. "Horror stories are dumb."_

_"Well then prove it, Sakura," Ino said sternly. "Spend a night in the Uchiha manor, and then we'll see if you still think horror stories are dumb."_

_The group went silent and all eyes went to Sakura._

_"Fine! I'll do it tonight and be back for school tomorrow," she replied stubbornly, earning a chorus of "oohs" from the friends surrounding her._

_"If you can make it back alive," Ino groaned. "Don't die, Sakura!"_

By the time Sakura had made it to the front gate, she was repeating the words "don't die, Sakura" over and over again in her head to give herself some type of mantra. The iron gate groaned as she forced it open, and she nervously glanced back at the pathway leading up to the house. You couldn't see the road from the house, so even if something _did _go wrong, she was pretty much fucked.

_Why did I do this to myself…._she thought with a groan. Then again, it was only one night. She could spend the entire time sleeping, and she wasn't required to explore every nook and cranny of the house.

Closing the gate with a final rusted squeak, Sakura adjusted the straps on her small backpack before walking up to the front door. Allegedly it was always kept unlocked, but she still felt like she was breaking and entering. (Tenten oh-so-cheerfully informed her that the police never patrol around the area anyways)

Being unsure of what proper haunted-house fashion etiquette was, she wore a pair of black spandex shorts and a somewhat baggy long-sleeve t-shirt with the bright words "Konoha Academy" written in all capital letters. On her feet she made sure to wear her best running shoes just in case any physical activity was required.

The house was a dark grey/blue-ish color, with very intricate columns and detailing all over. What made it look scary were the plants in the yard; most of the trees were dead, and the branches littered the overgrown grass and the roof. Leaves were everywhere, and there were probably more weeds than indigenous plant species on the lot.

It surprised her that the porch was completely bare. She thought there would at least be an old swing or chair or something. Then again, Sakura never asked for any full details of the house.

(looking back, she _definitely _should've spent some quality time looking up this stuff on the internet)

She gripped the front door handle with a shaking hand and had to take more than a few deep breaths to stabilize herself.

_Okay, Sakura. It's now or never. _

_One…_

_Two…._

_Three…_

Sakura gently turned the handle and pushed the door open, almost coughing at the dust inside. She clutched her flashlight tightly in her hand, shining it carefully inside.

_Should I say hello? It's not like it would do any harm, since if ghosts _did _exist, they would probably already know that I am here, and saying anything won't make them hate me more. And after all, aren't some ghosts good? I can't imagine all of them as evil, so you know I—_

A high-pitched creak almost made her scream in fright, but she immediately recognized it as the result of a poorly made wooden flooring.

(she tread very lightly after that)

Glancing down at her watch, Sakura had killed about an hour so far, so she only had eight to go. It still felt like a _ton,_ so she actually might just leave as soon as it turns light outside.

But at the moment, she couldn't see a single thing from outside. All of the windows were boarded, and even though all of the furniture was very ornate and classy, it was still covered in cobwebs and a thick layer of dust.

The house wasn't very big by modern standards, but she was told it was originally built 200 years ago, so it would've enormous back then. The first floor was entirely open space (no closed rooms at all), but the second looked to be full of the bedrooms and bathrooms.

For now, Sakura stuck to the first floor.

A dramatic staircase and balcony was right in front of her, giving a glimpse to the upstairs hallways. To the left was a brick fireplace with decaying furniture crowded in front of it. To the right, a large kitchen that, though in its prime must have been magnificent, looked like a mess of spiders and holey wood.

"H-hello?" she whispered out, the flashlight's beam shaking due to her shaking hand.

Nothing happened, though she wasn't sure what she'd do if something _did._

Since she really didn't have any sort of plan going into this, Sakura walked over to the living room area to look at the decorations lining the fireplace mantle and a few side tables.

The first thing that caught her eye was a large picture frame holding a black-and-white photo of a very intimidating-looking man with spikey black hair and squinted eyes. She couldn't quite make out the handwriting in the very bottom corner, but she thought that it read "Madara Uchiha."

_Maybe it's one of the first owners of the house? _Sakura mused. _He does have the "Uchiha" name._

Another picture frame had a picture of a married couple: a woman with beautiful long hair and a man with a deep scowl. It was strange to look at them hold hands. They seemed like such opposites.

The next had the same couple, though now there was a child that looked to be about six years old sitting on his mother's lap. The corner read,"Itachi Uchiha."

There was only one more picture, and this one had one more child in it. He looked to be about the same age as Itachi in the previous picture, but in this picture, Itachi was probably around thirteen. There were no names in the corner, but Sakura just guessed that the new person was the couple's son. Why else would they have him in a picture?

Sakura heard a shuffling noise behind her.

She quickly turned around, flashlight spinning with her, only to see nothing. (which didn't really soothe her nerves very much)

Then the sound of running nearly made her heart stop. The footsteps ran up the stairs loudly, and then a once they reached the top, a door up there slammed shut.

Sakura's mind was blank, and all she felt was pure fear start to coil in her belly. _Just some weird rats in this house, haha…._

She walked away from the photographs and went to the kitchen. Would there be rotting food inside the cabinets? Broken plates? She looked, but didn't find anything. The house must've been an easy target for robbers and the homeless before it had such a nefarious reputation.

Suddenly Sakura began to hear a quiet crying noise, definitely not coming from the first floor. It sounded like a woman in deep emotional pain. Thinking of the story Ino had told her about the kids that went "missing," Sakura realized that they still could be here! They could just be hiding from abusive parents, or trying to live on their own, or maybe they—

The crying got louder, and was definitely coming from upstairs, so Sakura strengthened her hold on the flashlight and started to climb the steps.

Every single board creaked and groaned, making Sakura start to sweat nervously. But the crying continued, so the woman must not have heard her coming yet. There was also a slight muffled conversation between two deep voices, which gave more evidence to Sakura's earlier theory. The kids from Sound High were a group of one girl and two guys.

Eventually, she reached the top of the stairs, avoiding looking around too much and focusing her entire attention on the door next to her. The cries were louder now, so she timidly knocked, only to get no response.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?"

A voice kept talking, but it obviously wasn't directed at her, and was directed at the others in the room.

_You knew this was coming_…she could hear one of the male voices say softly. _You did this to yourselves._

_If you must do this, please spare your brother! _the woman cried out, making Sakura confused. What in the world were they talking about? She put her hand on the doorknob and was about to turn it when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She couldn't help it.

She screamed as loudly as she ever had in her life.

"GET OUT ME!" she yelped, flinging her leg back to give a hard kick to whoever touched her. But that same motion caused her to fall over on her ass, since her leg met nothing mid-air. "What the hell…?"

Someone stood over her, making her skin prickle. _Am I about to die?_

"Uh…hello," she muttered out. "How are y-"

"What are you doing here?" he asked sternly, and Sakura managed to pick up her flashlight and point it in his direction. He didn't even flinch, as if he was expecting it.

Instead of decaying flesh and rotting organs, her light revealed a really attractive guy that looked to be about her age.

"Stupid reason," Sakura rushed out, glad that there was someone else here as well. Maybe _he _was here on a dare too! A fellow daredevil! "Why are _you _here?"

"I live here," he huffed out, rolling his eyes.

Her eyes widened. "You live here? By yourself?"

"Hn," he nodded. "My name is Sasuke."

He extended his hand to her, and she gratefully let him pull her up. Once she got a good look at him, she blushed lightly, taking in his messy black hair and flawlessly pale skin.

His eyes were dark and brooding, though slightly bloodshot. To put it simply, he looked like one of those "tortured artists" that stayed up until three in the morning every night to write out lengthy memoirs and poems.

With his hand on her back, he guided her down the hallway away from the room she had almost gone in before.

* * *

The room Sasuke took her in didn't look old or broken down at all. It was lit by dozens of candles, and there was a large queen bed with clothes haphazardly thrown over it as if he was cleaning out his closet just minutes before. His bookshelf was full of textbooks, literary classics, and a few records. A few picture frames were lined up on his desk, pictures of the same family that was downstairs, as well as a few other ones with him and other people (probably classmates or something).

"You can sit on the bed," he told her abruptly, throwing off a pile of coats to make room. Sakura obliged, still taking in how starkly different his room was from the rest of the house. As she looked around, Sasuke stared at her intensely, taking in everything, from her unique hair color to how precariously short her shorts were.

"Do you go to Konoha?" he asked, making Sakura snap her gaze back on his own. When she gave him a confused look, he pointed towards her. "Your shirt."

_Oh! That's right! I wore one of my Konoha shirts today!_

"Yeah!" she replied with a smile. "How about you? I don't think I've ever seen you around!"

"I used to go there," he nodded, sitting down on the bed beside her. "Never went to old houses for fun, though."

"If you live here, why don't you take better care of the downstairs?" Sakura asked, pursing her lips.

"Never felt like it."

"Never felt like it? It's so unsanitary! And the door's unlocked!" Sakura exclaimed, still not quite getting through to him.

"Didn't want to change anything," he replied, a twinge of sadness in his words.

There was a silence as Sakura tried to listen if the voices from before were back again.

"…my name is Sakura," she volunteered. "Sakura Haruno."

"How late were you dared to stay?" he asked bluntly. She flinched.

"Until 7 am."

"It's already midnight, so you still have awhile to go-"

He was cut off by a rather large (involuntary) yawn from Sakura.

"—and since it looks like you're tired anyways, you could just sleep in here," he finished.

"Why do you have so many candles lit?" she blurted out, curious since they arrived in here. Even though it was neither the time (nor the place!), sitting on a hot guy's bed by candlelight was starting butterflies in her stomach. It sure didn't help how intensely Sasuke would stare at her, even though they barely met.

"I like it," he said unenthusiastically, blushing a little at how close she was getting to him. It was pretty obvious to the both of them that he wasn't used to having strange pretty girls sit on his bed in the middle of the night.

"Why don't you let people know you live here? Everyone thinks this house is haunted, you know."

"The house isn't haunted," he paused, eyes downcast. "It's just misunderstood."

Sakura nodded, not because she understood, but because he looked rather depressed about it.

_"ITACHI! NO!" _a woman's voice screamed, making Sakura jump cling onto Sasuke.

"What was that? Who's Itachi? Isn't that the name of the guy in the pictures downstairs?" Sakura babbled, holding onto Sasuke and unconsciously pressing her entire body against his.

"I think I left the tv on in the other room," he hissed out, looking more upset than someone who just accidentally left a television on. "I'll go turn it off right now."

With that, he left the room, closing the door tightly behind him.

"What….."

* * *

He was gone for thirty minutes. Thirty minutes! Soon Sakura got tired of waiting, and now that she knew the house wasn't haunted, she thought that she should see what was taking him so long. She carefully opened the door into the hallway, holding her flashlight close.

_Which way should I go? _she thought. She decided on the opposite way of the tv room, since she hadn't been that way before. But she had only taken a few steps when she met the eyes of someone else.

She almost screamed, but managed to control the noise by slapping a hand over her mouth.

The man looked almost exactly like Sasuke, but with longer hair that he had in a low-ponytail.

"Hello," she smiled. "Are you Sasuke's brother or something?"

He gave her a strange look, as if he had just stumbled upon a talking cat or something.

"Are you a guest of Sasuke's?" he asked, his voice a low, throaty noise that made her shiver. His skin almost glowed under the streaks of moonlight peering in through the poorly covered windows. And here she had thought _Sasuke _was the most reclusive-looking person she'd ever seen!

"Yes, I think so," Sakura blushed. "I just came from his be—I mean, room."

The man nodded. "I see. Sasuke's never had a guest here before, much less in his…bed."

The pink-haired girl laughed awkwardly.

"How long will you be staying?" the man continued. Until now, she hadn't realized that he was holding his hands behind him strangely. Did he have something on his hands? I mean, he probably didn't expect some random girl to be in the hallway…

"Um..uh…I don't kn—I have to be at school tomorrow," Sakura assured, finally settling on an answer. Would it be weird to say that she was already starting to wonder if she should maybe stop by some other time to see Sasuke? He seemed lonely, and sure could use some company once in awhile. (Especially since she's been strongly considering giving him her number and maaaaaybe a kiss or two on the lips before she leaves)

"Perfect," the man said finally. "You should get back to his room now. He'll be back shortly."

Nodding, Sakura turned around and went back to the room, not realizing the massive puddle of blood that she had been standing in that entire conversation, getting larger as the man let the blood drip off of the kunai he had been hiding behind his back the entire time.

* * *

By the time Sasuke got back, it was one in the morning and Sakura was ridiculously tired. She didn't have any cell phone service in this house, so she passed the time by taking a few pictures (just to prove to Ino that she stayed this long) and thought of the many different, non-creepy ways she could tell Sasuke that she thought that they should hang-out in the future.

_He's just so cute! And that other guy seemed nice, too. I don't know why people get so many bad stories from this place. They probably never even went inside. It's like he said earlier! The house isn't haunted, it's misunderstood!_

As if she had summoned him with her thoughts, Sasuke burst back into the room, this time shirtless. Sakura's face lit up.

"Why…are….you….," she stammered out, but he answered before she could finish.

"Shirt got wet," he said shortly, not explaining any of the "What? Why? How?"questions running through Sakura's mind. "We need to get some sleep."

Words continued to fail Sakura as Sasuke pulled back the covers on the bed and instructed her to get under. She definitely obliged, but was surprised when he did as well. His quick breathing slowed as they both lay there in silence, the candles still illuminating the room.

"I have to leave at seven," Sakura breathed out, turning on her side so that she faced Sasuke. "Thank you for being so kind and welcoming this entire time."

"Hn."

"Not sure what I'll tell the kids at school-"

"Don't tell them anything," Sasuke growled, making Sakura pout.

"Fine," she agreed. "As long as you tell me one thing…."

Sasuke looked nervous, but he nodded, preparing himself for the question he had been dreading.

"Do you let all girls that come here sleep in your bed with you?"

He subtly let out a sigh of relief.

"No."

"Okay," Sakura smiled, happy with his answer. "And one more thing before I say goodnight, Sasuke…"

He watched as she cuddled up real close to him and kissed him gently on the lips.

Unsure of what to say, he muttered out a "thank you" that made Sakura smile even more.

"See you in the morning!"

* * *

The first thing Sakura did when she woke up was check her watch.

The second thing Sakura did was scream because she had overslept, so it was nine in the morning and her friends probably thought she was dead. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen, but the candles were blown out and her bag was placed neatly on the side of his desk, so she assumed he must be in the shower or something.

It was a shame, because she wanted to say goodbye, and see his reaction when she told him she was most likely going to visit him again sometime. So she did the next best thing: she wrote a note.

As she sprinted downstairs and out of the house, she didn't mind the mold and dust as much. In the daylight it looked more antique than horror-movie worthy. Not that she'd tell that to anyone else. She didn't want a bunch of people from school coming to mess everything up.

For now, the only thing she worried about was what excuse she'd give as to why she didn't have any crazy stories to tell anybody else.

* * *

_The Origins of Uchiha Manor (Abridged)_

_The house was built alongside Konoha, but due to disputes between Major Hashimrama Senju and Madara Uchiha, the family fell out of favor with the town. Madara was eventually banished but his family refused to leave with him, so he left a curse on his family's house and all who dared to enter it._

_Generations later, Fugaku and Minato Uchiha began living in the house once their first child, Itachi was born. When Itachi was thirteen, he slaughtered both of his parents by blade in the middle of the night, killing himself but letting his younger brother survive. Sasuke Uchiha lived in the house until his eighteenth birthday, when he is rumored to have hung himself in his closet while the room was lit by dozens of candles._

* * *

**Oh geez I really liked writing this, so it's like twice as long as my other prompts haha. Hope you guys liked it!**


	8. Day 8: The Student Becomes the Teacher

**Didn't want to set the story in a school (no matter how much I love teacher/student fics) because I want to keep things interestin'**

* * *

Title: CPR

Summary: Sasuke is a swim instructor at the local swimming pool, and unfortunately has the displeasure of training the new employees.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: The Student Becomes the Teacher (day 8)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the sun shone brightly, and the temperature was warm and balmy. The cheers and shouts of children rung through the pool area, crowded with parents, kids, and teenagers (who were really only there to tan).

Most people would love to work outside in this sort of weather, but Sasuke Uchiha _despised it._ He had been the head swim instructor at Konoha's only pool since he turned 18, and now that he was in college, he held the same position for every summer. He was now 20, and thoroughly tired of telling people to stop running and blowing his whistle every time some damn kid peed in the pool.

His other employees quit last summer (no doubt due to the stressful working conditions he gave them), so he decided to start fresh and hire a handful more. Though technically, Sasuke hadn't interviewed a single one. His boss did all of that; it was Sasuke's job to prepare them.

There were seven new employees total, and Sasuke only expected five to stay past training. And from looking them over, his best bets for quitters were the tan blonde guy in the back and _definitely _the pale strawberry-blonde in the front. Why did she think she could become a lifeguard? She looked like she never went out into the sunlight! (Not that he was one to judge at all)

"Welcome to your first day," Sasuke deadpanned, watching them squirm under his intense gaze. No doubt they expected working at a pool to be _easy_, well he was going to give them the shock of their lives today. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I would prefer if you never talk to me unless you absolutely need to."

"You don't mean that!" the blonde in the back laughed, making Sasuke groan in frustration.

Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

He made sure to leave no topic untouched. Pool filters? Check. Correct angle of pH tester papers when in the water? Check. Appropriate swimsuits? Check.

Sasuke silently congratulated himself on his good work, though he had only lost one trainee so far, and that was some kid with long brown hair that kept muttering about how it wasn't his fate to be working as a lifeguard or something.

Surprisingly, the girl from before was still there. He thought for sure she'd have left for now, but that really only left him with one option.

"This pool has remained accident-free since its opening three years ago because of out strict accordance to rules," he explained, glaring at some eight-year-old who looked like he was about to jump into the pool headfirst on the deep end. (The kid quickly realized his mistake and backed away)

"That means that if an accident happens on your watch, it's _your _fault that the pool's reputation is ruined," he continued, stepping back to let a patron walk through their crowd. "And I won't hesitate to get you fired because you do something stupid."

Another couple tried to walk through, forcing Sasuke to take yet another step back. "What I'm saying is th-"

Nevertheless, Sasuke misjudged his distance from the pool itself, and fell awkwardly into the pool, his head hitting the edge slightly. The students gasped, but they were the only ones that really saw what happened, so everyone else at the pool just heard a big splash and thought nothing of it.

However, one trainee didn't hesitate in the slightest. Seeing that their instructor didn't surface immediately, she dove in after him, using every pound of her light frame to pull him up from the depths of the twelve-foot zone and onto the cement.

She laid his unresponsive body down flat before clasping her hands together and beginning compressions, counting out thirty before opening Sasuke's mouth and giving two deep breaths.

As soon as her lips touched his, he came to, sputtering up pool water onto his rescuer's face. She drew back, tucking a stray wet strand of strawberry-pink hair behind her ear as she watched him come to.

"Are you okay?" she asked hurriedly, her bright green eyes boring into his own. "Your pupils are really dilated."

"Hn. I'm fine," Sasuke tried to say, but it managed to come out in a strangled cough due to all the water still in his lungs. The girl looked at him expectantly.

He stared back.

"You're welcome," she said finally.

Sasuke couldn't help but notice that every single other new "life guard" had been standing there dumbly, watching the scene unfold with wide eyes and slack jaws.

"No one else did anything? Really?" he hissed. "Aren't you all supposed to be CPR trained?"

"Just cause we're certified doesn't mean we feel comfortable doing it to real life people," muttered one of them, making Sasuke scowl.

"I almost died! I just-"

"—gave the pool its first accident since its opening?" the girl smiled. He narrowed his eyes.

"And why are _you _so comfortable with CPR, Miss….?"

"Sakura," she huffed. "And I'm pre-med, so of course I know how to do CPR."

"How old are you?"

"19."

"What are you doing t-"

"Are we fired?" one of the trainees interrupted, the tan blonde one he had already decided that he did not like.

"No," Sasuke grunted. "But that's only because we're too busy to sort through applications again."

The rest of them sighed in relief.

"But you….," he stated, turning back to face Sakura. "Meet me in my office after training."

Once Sasuke stood back up to go teach them something else, Naruto walked up to Sakura, giving her a congratulatory pat on the back before pulling her in for a whisper. "I think this guy got the hots for you now"

"Hah…I wish…" Sakura sighed out quietly, neither of them noticing that Sasuke was teaching them something he had already taught them today. After all, he was still trying to concentrate hard enough to get his cheeks to stop flushing after his encounter with Sakura.

* * *

**I'm almost caught up! For now I gotta get to sleep since it's like 2:09am**


	9. Day Nine: Bravery

**Three weeks ago I dyed the bottom half of my dark-brown hair cotton candy pink (lol definitely Sakura's color. Not that I tell my friends that), and it's gradually faded, so today I'm going to try re-dying it myself. Wish me luck! (bc I'll probably need it)**

* * *

Title: Gender Roles

Summary: Sakura proposes to Sasuke (and he is not pleased).

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Bravery (day 9)

Rating: K

Warnings: none

* * *

"Absolutely not," Sasuke scowled, glaring down the pink-haired woman sitting across from him at the dinner table. They had already been dating for the past three years, but that did not give her the right to _propose _to him!

Seeing her completely horror-struck expression, he quickly realized how his words must have been interpreted.

"It's…uh….not that I don't love you, it's just-"

"If you didn't want to be with me, you should've said so earlier," Sakura spat out, pushing her half-eaten plate away from her. "Otherwise you've just wasted three years of our lives while you could have been searching for a woman you _actually _wanted to marry and have kids with."

"I never said I didn't want kids!" Sasuke yelled after her, watching her leave their apartment with a huff, slamming the door so hard the hinges almost broke.

_Ugh, I messed up…_Sasuke thought to himself, running a hand through his messy black hair. _How do I fix this?_

* * *

"A-a-and then he…he flat out r-rejected me!" Sakura stammered out, tears running freely down her cheeks as Ino held her tightly to her chest while rubbing her back soothingly.

"Sakura, do you remember when you helped me get over Shikamaru?" the blonde woman said softly, Sakura nodded in response. "I'm going to do the same exact thing with you. You will get through this, you are a strong, kick-ass, gorgeous legendary ninja, and if Sasuke cannot see that, then he doesn't deserve you anyway!"

"Thanks, Ino," Sakura smiled softly through her sobs. "Ugh…this just sucks so much because it took so much courage to even ask that! It was one of the most brave things I've done, and I got flat-out rejected!"

"Ugh I hope Naruto finds out soon so that he can beat the crap out of Sasuke," Ino sighed. "And Tsunade is _not _going to like this."

* * *

"—and so she finally proposed to him because if you date for three whole years, you should be getting married at that point, and he SAID NO!" Ino told her teammates at their dinner table, her ramen sitting ignored in front of her.

"Hmm…that doesn't make sense," Shikamaru replied. "I can't think of any reason he'd say no. Sakura is pretty much the most ideal candidate for marriage."

"I'll pretend that isn't a blow to my femininity…," Ino scoffed. "And focus on the more important thing. We need a plan for Sasuke to see the errors of his ways."

"We can all take turns beating him up," Choji suggested through a mouthful of his food. "It won't be hard to get a bunch of volunteers."

"That's too overt," Ino sighed. "We need something that will be subtle."

"I have an idea," Shikamaru said slowly. "Though we need Sai's help."

"Sai?" Ino asked, crinkling her nose. "What in the world could he help with?"

"You'll see," Shikamaru smirked. "It's actually quite ingenious."

* * *

"WHY DID YOU SAY _THAT_?" Naruto screamed at Sasuke, eyes ablaze. "Don't you realize how she obviously interpreted that? If you say that sort of stuff, you don't deserve her in the first place!"

"I didn't know she'd take it so harshly," Sasuke muttered. "I assumed she'd understand what I meant."

"I never should've given you permission to date her," Naruto frowned. "I should've gotten her to go out with Sai…or even Kakashi!"

Sasuke shot Naruto a murderous look. "You would never."

"Sakura probably thinks you guys are completely broken up now! There are probably other guys asking her out this very minute! And even if she doesn't like them, Sakura will probably say yes just to spite you!"

"She would never," Sasuke growled. "She loves _me_."

"You need to go apologize before you lose her forever," Naruto said finally. "And don't mess this up."

"I know," Sasuke grunted out. "I'll get her back tonight."

* * *

Sakura was surprised that Sai had found her at the training fields, since she wasn't at the one she usually went to. Most of the trees had been punched to splinters, and the ground was cracked from her non-chakra-enhanced punches. (She wouldn't add chakra unless she wanted the entire area to be demolished)

"Hey, do you need something, Sai?" Sakura asked curiously, wiping a lock of sweaty hair out of her face and walking over to his still frame.

"I heard that you're not with Sasuke anymore," he said in his usual slight monotone.

"Yeah, it looks that way," Sakura sighed, crossing her arms as she faced her pale teammate. "Why do you ask?"

Little did Sakura know that the man they were talking about had just arrived to the training field and was definitely listening in.

"I'm glad you're available," Sai smiled. After the war, his smiles had gradually become more genuine, thankfully.

"…Why?"

Sasuke grit his teeth. _He better not be—_

"I would like to ask you on a date where we can discuss relationship possibly between us two."

Sakura's mouth dropped open. "What?"

"You're the best potential partner in the village. You're the top kunoichi after Tsunade, and the most physically attractive as well," he stated, as if it was obvious. "It makes up for your violent personality."

"I don't know, Sai…," Sakura said awkwardly. "This is really sudden and—"

"She doesn't want to," Sasuke suddenly broke in, appearing behind her with a hand on her shoulder. Sakura almost jumped; she didn't even sense his chakra coming.

"She's with me."

Sai nodded, looking disappointed. "I wish you luck, Sakura."

"What are you doing, Sasuke?" Sakura hissed out, backing away from him. "I thought you made it pretty clear that you didn't want to be with me."

"That's not what I meant," he explained.

"Well then what DID you mean?" Sakura cried out, feeling the tears start to pool in her eyes again.

He pulled a small box out of his pocket, and she looked at him incredulously.

"_I _wanted to be the one to propose," he huffed out, cheeks the tiniest bit of red. "I already had the ring and everything."

Sakura gaped.

"I didn't mean that I didn't want to get married…I just didn't want you to be the one to propose."

"You should've said that earlier!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around her new finance in a tight hug.

"You didn't exactly give me the time to."

Sakura smiled as he helped slide on the ring; it was simple looking so that it wasn't high maintenance, but gorgeous nonetheless. "I still love you."

"I love you too," he grumbled out. (She always loved when she got him to admit it out loud)

"I know," Sakura added.

"So….how soon are we having kids?"

* * *

**omfg so I bleached my hair pale blonde and then put in some toner to make it less yellow-y, but I left it in too long and now the ends of my hair are SILVER. (but I think I like it, so I might be keeping it for now)**


	10. Day Ten: Impulsive

**I forgot their names, but on the last season of X Factor, there was this really cute couple that did really cool duets and eventually won in the end. So this is kinda inspired by that, I guess. (highly recommend checking out their performances)**

* * *

Title: I Want You to Stay

Summary: Sasuke and Sakura audition for a (nationally broadcasted) voice competition on impulse, and sure didn't get what they expected.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Impulsive (day 10)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

All of the building's practice rooms were nearly full, the sound of dozens of people warming up their voices and belting as high as they could.

Sakura gulped nervously, squeezing Sasuke's hand tight as he stared blankly ahead. They had about ten minutes before they faced the judges, and considering they had decided to audition on a whim, they probably should've had something prepared. The only songs they had memorized were a few on the current top 40 list, and Sasuke only knew them because Sakura would always play them whenever they were in the car.

They were both twenty and still in college, and since the filming for this show would be during the summer, even if they did make it on (though it was a very, _very _smll chance), they would be able to do it and not miss a day of classes.

Sakura had always been really into music, and in high school she was the lead in practically every musical they put on, as well as being in choir. She had a vocal scholarship at Konoha University even though she was pre-med and majoring Neuroscience and Biochemistry. (Needless to say, she was a very dedicated student)

Although she and Sasuke technically went to High School together, he was only at her school for his first semester before he transferred to Sound Academy (Konoha's rival school) to play football. Thankfully, he returned in time for his senior year since his time at Sound had been so miserable.

The first time they had really interacted was when they were paired together in a philosophy class their freshmen year. Sasuke was a pre-law business major, and the only reason they were both there was because it was a class required to graduate. And even though they hated the class, they spent more time in the library than necessary, having deep conversations about their pasts, talking about their families, and what they wanted to do in the future. They discovered that they had the same best friend (Naruto), and shared a lot of the same friends.

He didn't like her friend Ino, mostly because she forced Sakura to come along with her every night of the weekend to fraternity parties where everyone got too drunk and made bad decisions.

The first time Sasuke had come along with them (at Sakura's request), it had been miserable, with one of Sakura's friends Karin trying to push him into a closet with her, and one of Sasuke's older brother's friends hitting on Sakura all night. However, as soon as Sasuke caught view of that redheaded kid trying to kiss her, he went right up to them, punched the guy in the face, and asked Sakura to be his girlfriend right then and there.

(Romantic, right?)

As their relationship progressed, they realized that they both liked the same music, and would always sing softly together in the car. It was quite a sight to see—Sakura with her wonderfully breathy, pop voice, and Sasuke's with his rough baritone voice. They were opposites, but it sounded amazing once they were put together.

Waiting backstage was tearing apart Sakura's nerves. She kept asking Sasuke what would happen if they failed miserably, and it was all he could do to just reassure her that they would rock this, and everyone from back home would be so proud.

"And next up is Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno!" the tv host chirped, ushering them onstage. The judges sat there impassively while the audience clapped loudly, probably due to the fact that they were a cute, attractive couple and walked on while holding hands.

"So, how long have you two been together?," the female judge asked, a blonde entertainer named Tsunade. "You look so adorable!"

"A year," they said at the same time. The audience "aww"-ed in unison.

"Well, we'll see if that translates to your vocal ability," the second judge scoffed, an older celebrity named Orochimaru.

"Good luck!" said the last judge, Jiraya.

The track began, and with a few shaky breaths, they began their song.

_All along it was a fever…a cold sweated hot headed believer…._Sakura sung out staring out at the audience nervously. She could feel the sweat start to prickle on the back of her neck. _I threw my hands in the air, said show me something….he said if you dare, come a little closer._

She nodded at Sasuke, who began the bridge. Sakura wished she had his confidence, because he had always been good at hiding any self-consciousness. _Round and around and around and around we go…oh now, tell me now, tell me now, tell me now, you know_…

Sakura took back over for the next part of the song. _Not really sure how I feel about it. Something in the way you move. Makes me feel like I can't live without you and it takes me all the way, I want you to stay…_

And finally, they sung the final part of the chorus together, Sakura taking the harmony while Sasuke powered through the melody. Their hands clutched their microphones tightly, discreetly eyeing the judges for any sign of approval or rejection.

_I want you to stay, stay….I want you to stay (ooooh)_

As the music faded out, the audience burst into a thunderous roar of applause, surprising the two. They definitely auditioned with the intention of being decent, but they didn't expect to be so well-received.

Tsuande had tears in her eyes. "Your voices just sound so perfect together, yet you both have beautiful voices on your own as well! It was a pleasure to listen to! You definitely have my vote!"

Sakura grinned. "Thank you so much!"

Jiraya gave them a big thumb's up. "Really good job, guys. You'll definitely go far in the competition, because you have my vote as well!"

Sasuke squeezed Sakura's shoulder tightly as she let out a gasp of surprise. Darting her eyes over to meet his own, he offered her a nodded of encouragement.

Finally, it came down to Orochimaru.

"Sakura, your voice is good, but Sasuke…I believe you have extraordinary talent," he smirked, as if enjoying their surprised reactions. "I think you should leave her behind and go in the competition by yourself."

The crowd booed as if to voice Sasuke's opinion for him.

"Never," he said assuredly, grabbing Sakura's hand in his own. "I wouldn't be auditioning if it weren't for Sakura. We entered this together, and if we leave, we'll be leaving together."

Everyone in the auditorium clapped loudly, pleased with his reaction.

"Fine," Orochimaru sighed. "I'll give you my vote."

Sakura squealed, jumping into a tight hug with Sasuke. "We did it! I can't believe we actually made it!"

They walked quickly off the stage so Sakura could also pull Sasuke into a deep kiss, the other people waiting backstage staring at them awkwardly.

"You know what this means, Sakura?" Sasuke asked, pulling away.

"What?" she asked, confused at his seriousness.

"We are going to absolutely demolish our competition."

She grinned. "I wouldn't expect any less."

* * *

**True story: there's actually a video of me and a friend singing this on youtube. Feel free to attempt to find it, though it might be impossible considering I don't think any of you know what my last name is or what I look like. (;**


	11. Day Eleven: A Night with No Stars

**I need some more prompts on my tumblr, so feel free to send me some (any pairing!) at pluhsauce . tumblr . com !**

* * *

Title: We'll be Counting Stars

Summary: Sakura spends her night in the Sound base and comes across an unlikely rescuer.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: A Night With No Stars (day 11)

Rating: T

Warnings: sexual situations

* * *

Sakura groaned in pain, her head throbbing and every limb aching as if she had just been through the hardest training session of her life. Vaguely she could feel the cool sting of bloody wounds, and she wasn't sure if the dripping noise she heard was from an outside source or from her own body.

_Where am I?_

Forcing open her tired eyes, she was met with blackness; she took awhile to adjust to the lack of light, but it turns out that the room was barely lit to begin with. The wall she was strapped against was made of thick cement, and her restraints were obviously chakra-suppressors, because she couldn't summon a bit of chakra to her fists.

"H-hello?" she stammered out, throat sounding hoarse and cracked. "How long have I been here? Where am I?"

No response.

Was there really no guard outside of her cell? Did she have any hope of getting out of this? The last thing she remembered was fighting off a huge horde of anbu-level ninja from Sound alongside Kiba, and the next thing she knew she was stuck in this cell.

"You're in a base of Orochimaru's," a deep voice answered, a familiar low tone accompanied by an even-more familiar chakra-signature.

_This has to be a trick, there's no way it can be—_

"It's been awhile, Sakura," the voice said, which she had already identified as her ex-teammate.

"Where's Kiba?" she asked quickly, worried for her mission-partner's safety.

"Why would you care about _him_?" he hissed.

"Because he would never leave me behind."

The following silence was tense, and Sakura almost found herself wishing she hadn't said that.

"We sent him back to Konoha to tell them of your disappearance."

"What, so am I a hostage or something?" Sakura protested. "Let me out of these!"

"I don't want you to try to escape. You'd only make yourself look foolish."

"What do you want from me?" Sakura spat out, rustling her restraints. "Why are you here?"

"I need to get information from you."

"Fuck off," Sakura growled. "I'm not telling you anything."

Although Sakura didn't show it, all she wanted to do at the moment was break down into tears. When she had begun the day's mission, she sure didn't expect that she'd spend the night in some damp cell. If things had gone as planned, she'd be sleeping under the stars, not sitting in the dark without a single light.

"You won't be saying that later," he said assuredly, making her even more pissed than before.

"Goodnight, Sakura."

Sakura then spent her night alone.

* * *

When she opened her eyes again, Sakura was met with an dimly lit room, the only light being from the lamp on a bedside table. _Wait…bedside?_

She was laying down on a bed, hands and legs tied to the bedposts. Her blood ran cold. Surely they wouldn't—

"Hello Sakura," a voice called out, the same as before. Looking up, Sakura made direct eye contact with the last person she wanted to see.

"Sasuke…"

"Orochimaru's given me an excellent opportunity…," he smirked, walking over to her helpless frame.

"I think you'll find this method of getting information to be very beneficial for the both of us."

_No….he can't mean—_

He placed a confident hand on her upper thigh, his flesh ice cold and hers warm.

"I'll need you to tell me everything you know about the Kyuubi's location…" he practically purred, moving his other hand to her soft cheek and making her shudder.

"I'll never tell you anything, asshole," Sakura protested, trying to twitch her limbs around to get him off.

He smoothed a finger over her lips, tempting her to bite him.

"You're not Sasuke," Sakura frowned. Sasuke look startled.

"Why do you say that, Sakura? Here I was thinking that you wanted to help me get a head start of reviving the Uchiha clan…"

Just as his lips were about to descend onto her own, the door to her cell slammed open, revealing another figure that she recognized as Sasuke. What was happening?

"Kabuto, get the fuck off of her," he ordered, hatred dripping off every syllable.

The "Sasuke" over her grinned, leaning in closer. "What, I'm sure you don't mind me having some fun with little Sakura here…."

"Get. The. Fuck. Off," he said louder, walking over and forcibly grabbing him to pull him back.

"So touchy, Sasuke," the figure grinned, morphing back into the familiar grey-haired enemy ninja. Sakura's gaze narrowed, imagining all of the harm she would do to that asshole if she wasn't locked up.

"Leave."

"Fine, fine," Kabuto sighed. "Just know that I'll be back tomorrow for Sakura."

Once he left, Sasuke turned to Sakura, taking in the fear and disbelief she had hidden in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" he said softly.

Sakura nodded.

"Did he hurt you at all?"

She shook her head, too numb to talk. What was Sasuke doing here? Why did he care?

"Why do you care?" (Shit, she didn't mean to say that out loud)

He stiffened.

"You shouldn't be caught up in this. You don't belong here," he spoke slowly, running his eyes over her trembling form. Her clothes were ripped and bloody, almost to the point where she was indecent. But at the moment, she couldn't care less, because what she was focusing on was getting out of there and healing her wounds (which could be getting infected, for all she knew).

"If I take off your restraints, will you promise to not do anything stupid and just use your energy to escape out of here?" he asked, walking closer until his hands were over one of the bindings.

Sakura reluctantly nodded. Was this all a trap?

"Prove to me that this isn't a trap," she asked quietly, eyes boring into his own.

"I can't."

They didn't speak for awhile, just looking at each other and searching each other's faces for something to take in.

"Okay," Sakura breathed out. Nodding, Sasuke started on her leg bindings, cutting them off easily while warily looking at her to make sure she didn't try to kick him in the face. Next, he went over to her wrist bindings. Those were simple as well, but he hesitated longer, sparing glances at her impassive expression.

Once she was completely freed, Sakura couldn't stop looking at her "rescuer." Wasn't it ironic that he was the one to save her?

"Go out of the cell and turn to your left. There is a door at the end of the hallway, and we have no guards posted. Don't bother to send Konoha troops here, because we will have most likely relocated by then."

Sakura was dumbfounded. She didn't know that Sasuke would care so much….

"Sasuke?" she mumbled.

"Hn."

"Thank you," she smiled sweetly, lifting her lips to his own for the briefest of seconds. Then, ignoring the pain of her wounds, she bolted out of the cell, wondering what the hell she just did, and how she'd explain this whole experience to Tsunade when she got back.

* * *

**Finally caught up with the days! I'll def stick to the normal schedule from now on, these past few days have just been really hectic. **


	12. Day Twelve: Silver Lining

**Dedicated to the fact that it is storming hardcore right now where I live**

* * *

Title: Severe Weather Warning

Summary: All of Konoha Academy is stuck in the basement as they wait out a huge storm; Sakura has to try to survive sitting in between Sai and Sasuke.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Silver Lining (day 12)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

When the lights went out, a few girls screamed, adding to the tension that had been building in the room for a while. What started out as a normal school day turned to panic as one of the worst storms in Konoha history started, preventing anyone from leaving the building. The students were all huddled in the locker rooms in the basement, so the air smelt unpleasant and it didn't muffle the noise of thunder and the pounding rain outside.

"Guess that means our backup generator ran out," a teacher sighed, which Sakura easily identified as Kakashi. They had been placed in alphabetical order by first name, which meant that she was squeezed between Sai and Sasuke. She tried to ignore how close they were (we're talking full-contact), but it was getting hard. Sakura had the biggest crush on Sasuke, but tried not to show it. And Sai, well he had been really creepy to her recently after he got her number. He kept asking for naked pictures, to which Sakura _never _responded. He seemed like the type to only ask just so he could blackmail her or show all of his friends.

"Obviously," Sasuke grunted. "And we're stuck here."

"It's already 5pm," Sai added. "We were supposed to get out of school at 3pm."

"We better not still have to do our homework…," Sakura groaned, shifting a little. What she couldn't see in the dark was Sasuke's reaction to her constantly brushing against him. His cheeks flushed slightly, and he was wondering if he should take the plunge and try to get closer.

"UGH I WANNA LEAVE," Naruto yelled out, followed by a deafening clap of thunder. Hinata yelped.

"Shut up, Naruto," someone hissed that sounded like Kiba. "You're not helping."

Sakura rolled her eyes even though no one could see. _I hate this so much. And I'm getting so nervous sitting so close to Sasuke…..I can't handle this._

Sasuke was feeling about the same level of frustration. _She smells so good. I can even feel her hair against my shoulder…_

"Are you going to sit on my lap, Sakura?" Sai teased.

"No," Sakura hissed.

Sasuke could feel his temperature start to rise.

"You sure? Because I c-"

"She said no," Sasuke bit out.

Sakura smiled, gently rubbing his shoulder. When he tensed, Sakura flinched away, feeling herself start to slowly wither. _Why did I do that oh no he's never going to talk to me again—he's never going t—_

However, the sudden touch on her shoulder proved her wrong. _Is Sasuke…resting his head on my shoulder?_

He smelled all sorts of wonderful, and his body heat was incredibly welcome against her cold skin. She was both glad and apprehensive that she was wearing a tank top today, because that meant that more of her was exposed to him.

"Sas-"

"Hn," he grunted. "I'm tired."

For the next few minutes, Sakura was wondering if she should question if Sasuke was actually asleep or not. His breaths were deep and even, but she doubted that anyone could fall asleep _that _fast.

(and she found herself wishing that the storm wouldn't end any time soon)

After probably ten minutes, Sasuke moved in his sleep, and he ended up resting his hands about her own. She inhaled sharply, trying to ignore the tingly butterflies in her stomach.

Since she couldn't see, she was completely unaware of the fact that Sasuke was definitely _not _asleep, since his eyes were most definitely open.

The lights suddenly flickered back on, and as everyone's eyes adjusted, a lot of people stared openly at the cuddling Sasuke and Sakura.

"Sakura, what the f-" Sai started, before Sakura quickly jerked away from Sasuke, assuming that Sasuke didn't want anyone else to see. What she didn't predict, however, was that Sasuke remained holding her hand though he avoided eye contact and remained staring straight ahead.

* * *

As Kakashi instructed all of the students to leave the basement, go to their lockers, and go home, Sasuke followed Sakura to her locker without saying a word.

"Do you need something, Sasuke?" Sakura asked innocently as she took out her stuff from her locker, packing her backpack with all the homework she had to do for over the weekend.

"I'm driving you home," he said simply. Sakura's jaw almost dropped.

"Usually Ino drives me…"

"Text her that you don't need a ride from her," he answered matter-of-factly.

"Uh…um okay..," Sakura laughed awkwardly, hiding the fact that she was freaking out on the inside. _Don't screw this up! _she repeated dozens of times in her head.

"I'm parked in the back parking lot," he added, waiting for her to fall in-step with him. Once she caught up to him, Sakura couldn't help the smile that followed. She could really get used to this—walking beside Sasuke with her driving her home.

That awful experience of being stuffed into the school's basement was actually a good thing after all!

* * *

**Also ironic that the prompt is "silver lining," since the bottom half of my hair is silver now. (still not sure if I'm dying over it or not)**


	13. Day Thirteen: Drowning

Title: The Alcohol Decency Program

Summary: "Why are you here?" he asked. "My fiancé of two years won't admit he's in love with another woman. How about you?" "…..Family issues."

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Drowning (day 13)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

The Alcohol Dependency program in Konoha is free, open to the public, and usually very well attended. Because for some reason, living in a high-pressure city with bad weather and high crime rates, there was a high percentage of people that drowned themselves in alcohol frequently. And since all types of people can be affected, there were all sorts of people that came in every week.

Sakura Haruno did not look like the typical attendee. She was very young, pretty, and her shoes always matched her outfit. She was a doctor at the nearby hospital, and although her boss was an infamous alcoholic, Sakura herself had never touched the stuff until recently. (which is probably why it got so out-of-hand so quickly) However, she kept appearances wonderfully. The only people that knew were the random strangers she sat in a room with every Wednesday at 7pm.

Sasuke Uchiha looked like the typical attendee. Although he was devastatingly attractive, he had chronic dark circles, rarely talked, and the only colors in his wardrobe were black and grey. He had been going to meetings for the past few years, so most people assumed he was forced to come by a friend or family member.

The man leading the group seemed nice enough. He was slightly chubby and jolly looking, but had once told the group that he didn't drink, even socially. (If he had never had alcohol before, why was he in charge?)

Although the group was large, Sakura couldn't help but notice Sasuke. They didn't give out last names in group, so the only thing she knew about him was his first name and that he didn't like to talk. This frustrated her, because no matter how good looking he was, the whole point of the group was to get better. She knew that before even showing up to her first meeting! As a doctor, she liked to see results, and people that didn't try really got under her skin.

So one day after meeting, she approached him.

"Why don't you ever participate in group?" she said suddenly to him as the rest of the group filed out of the room, the instructor included. He sighed as if he was used to the question.

"It's none of your business."

His voice was rich and low, and Sakura ignored the shiver that ran down her spine.

"If you're not going to try, then don't go in the first place," she frowned, turning to leave.

Sasuke watched her walk out the room, scanning over her lithe frame as if seeing her for the first time.

_Interesting._

* * *

"Your turn, Sasuke! How has your week been?" the instructor chirped out, although everyone knew the dark-haired man always rolled his eyes and ignored the question.

However, tonight was different.

"Pretty shitty," he muttered. Everyone in the room was visibly shocked, especially the instructor. Sasuke flitted his gaze over to where Sakura sat in the circle. He liked he way her eyes widened, and also liked how the tight pencil skirt she was wearing rode up to her mid-thigh when she was seated.

The instructor carried on to the other members, assuming (correctly) that Sasuke wouldn't say another word. When he got to Sakura, Sasuke made sure to actually pay attention rather than tune her out like he did when everyone else was talking.

"I haven't decided if I'm going to tell my friends or not. But I know for sure I'd never tell my family; they'd probably disown me."

Sasuke watched he way she adverted her eyes to the floor. _Alcoholic with daddy issues. Nothing new here._

"But I told my boss. She actually liked it. Said it made me more human, and that I could probably relate to some of our patients more easily."

Well Sasuke wasn't expecting that. Patients? She must be a nurse. He had been thinking that she worked at some fashion magazine or was a personal trainer. Something to explain how she managed to look healthy and put-together even with dealing with whatever she dealing with.

"Then again, lately I haven't been interacting with patients as much. I think I miss it. Diagnostics is exciting, but I think I'll be grey by 30 if I have to do it for the rest of my life. It's stressful if you don't have any breaks once in awhile."

Apparently Miss Sakura was actually _Doctor _Sakura.

Needless to say, Sasuke was interested.

After meeting, Sakura came up to Sasuke again. He didn't even get out of his chair; he was expecting her.

"Good try, but…."

"But?" he grunted.

"Is that _really _your best effort?" she shot out before leaving him to his own thoughts.

* * *

"How has your week been, Sasuke?"

Sasuke pondered for a second, leaving everyone wondering if he would actually answer again, or if that one time had just been a mental breakdown. His arms were crossed, and he reclined casually in his chair.

"I met someone," he spoke, his face expressionless. "Someone that actually seemed to care if I changed."

"We all care for your recovery," the instructor emphasized. "You are a valuable member of our group"

"The thing is, she doesn't know me at all. We are perfect strangers and she's helped more than any of my 'friends.'"

He didn't even need to look over to Sakura to know what her reaction would be.

As usual, she came to him, but this time she took the seat next to him.

"Why did you say all of that?" she asked cautiously.

"I thought you wanted me to talk more?" he said offhandedly.

"Yeah, but I didn't think y-"

"What's your name?" he interrupted.

"Sakura," she answered. "Sakura Haruno."

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. Are you a doctor?"

"At Konoha Hospital."

"Why are you here?" he asked, watching her expression soften. She ran a hand through her shoulder-length hair and sighed.

"I've always been pretty emotionally fragile, no matter how hard I try to hide or change it," she said sadly, staring at the floor. "I'm a perfectionist, and my parents raised me with the notion that I have to be the best at everything I do."

He nodded, familiar with the experience.

"I've had a lot of relationships, and every single one ended because they said I was always busy and they wanted me to make more time for them. So I finally found one guy that never complained about my busy schedule; I'm not even sure if I ever loved him, I just wanted someone there. So I accepted his proposal, he moved in with me, and we were like that for two years. And although he never says it, I know he's lonely. I rarely see him, and I know he craves more."

"…that's it?"

Sasuke gave him a steely glare. "He's been seeing another woman recently. Not sexually or romantically since I know he'd never do that, but emotionally. And I know he'd be happier with her. She's in love with him. He probably will follow suit soon."

"I see," Sasuke said, though he couldn't really relate. Although he had listened to many of his friend's romantic woes, he had never been in a legitimate relationship himself. Never saw a reason why he should.

"So what about you?" Sakura asked, any remnants of the sad expression from before completely wiped off of her face. "Why are _you _here?"

"Family issues."

* * *

"Any improvements from last week, Sasuke?" the instructor questioned, looking hopeful. "You look happier than usual."

Sasuke inwardly scoffed. Did he really have to say that out loud?

"I'm going to ask the girl on a date," he said simply. "She'll say yes."

"How do you know?" the instructor laughed, amused at Sasuke's change in demeanor.

"She and I will meet for coffee at the café across from the street tomorrow at 9pm," Sasuke continued, ignoring the question.

"Good for you, Sasuke! Hopefully this relationship will blossom into something beautiful!"

By the time he got to Sakura, she had prepared her answer.

"And how are you, Sakura?"

"It looks like I'll be going on a date tomorrow."

* * *

They sat comfortably in each other's presence, sitting in a booth in the far corner of the café. Steaming mugs of coffee sat in front of them, Sasuke's black, and Sakura's some frothy concoction that was mostly milk and sugar.

They had been talking for quite awhile before Sakura suddenly looked very serious.

"I googled your name," she said softly, taking a sip from the mug in her hand. "How old were you when it happened?"

"Eight," he muttered. "Itachi was 13."

"I also read that you're a police officer," she added. His stare was intense, almost smoldering. "Is that so you can find him and put him behind bars? Make him pay for his actions?"

"I've been trying to bring him in since my first day on the force. I haven't had a lead in two years."

"Which is why-"

"Which is why I'm going to an alcohol dependency program," he finished. Sakura laughed slightly, making Sasuke narrow his eyes in confusion.

"Compared to you, my reasons for drinking are so fucking stupid," she explained. Then in a surprising show of affection, Sasuke put his hand over hers, brushing his calloused fingers over her soft, tiny hands.

"I'm not your typical case," he smirked. "Don't worry, you're still fucked up too."

Sakura impishly grinned back.

"You're so kind."

"You're annoying."

"Do you want to go back to my place?" she said suddenly, not breaking the eye contact.

"Hn," he replied. "What about your finance?"

"….I broke up with him after I met you," Sakura sheepishly admitted. "He's happy with his new girlfriend. The apartment was mine in the first place, so there was no trouble in him moving out."

"Good. Because in case you couldn't tell, this will not be a one-time thing."

"I know," Sakura smiled. "I'd be offended if you thought otherwise."

.

.

.

Turns out, the Alcohol Dependency program wasn't such a waste of time after all.

* * *

**and PSA: if you have any problems with alcohol (no matter how slight they may seem), finding the support you need is one of the best things you can do for yourself. **


	14. Day Fourteen: His Side of the Story

**(in case you didn't know by the title, this is totally inspired by the first song in the movie Grease)**

* * *

Title: Summer Lovin'…..

Summary: Naruto grinned. "Did you get very far?" Sasuke was silent. "Ooooh so you didn't!"

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: His Side of the Story (day 14)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

It was the first day of school, and every student, no matter what year or gender, was swapping stories with their friends about their summer adventures.

The kids that did nothing bragged about how relaxing it was, the ones that had jobs bragged about all the money they made. Some could brag about the lavish vacations they went on, or the crazy parties they went to.

But not Sasuke.

Needless to say, his summer went a lot different than he (or anyone else, for that matter) had expected.

"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled from across the school's courtyard, sprinting over to his best friend. Shikamaru, Suigetsu, and Neji followed behind, though at a far slower pace. "I haven't seen you in like three months! How's it been?!"

Sasuke scoffed. "I texted you throughout the summer."

"Yeah but not that much!" Naruto pouted. "I had to hang out with Suigetsu for most of the time!"

Sasuke tried not to imagine how terrible it would be for the two to spend so much time together. Naruto and Suigetsu worked well in their larger group, but _definitely_ not one-on-one.

Suigetsu rolled his eyes at Naruto before turning to Sasuke. "Wow…you don't look as pale as you usually do!"

"Hn."

"Idiot. Don't you remember? Sasuke and his family stayed in Italy the entire summer," Shikamary sighed.

"Well what did you do for summer, Nara?" Neji asked pointedly.

"I took a bunch of college classes the entire summer," he yawned. "It was so troublesome…they were ridiculously easy so I got all A's, but there was just so much homework every day."

"What did you do, Neji?" Suigetsu said.

"I had a paid internship at a law firm," he replied with a smirk. "And Tenten worked at the diner next door, so we got to see each other on our breaks."

Suigetsu made a gagging noise. "You guys are so boring. Summer's all about having fun and relaxing! Naruto and I beat so many video games and watched so many movies!"

"We also went to the beach a lot to check out chicks in bikinis," Naruto grinned, high-fiving Suigetsu as they giggled pervertedly.

"What about Karin, Suigetsu?" Neji frowned. Suigetsu shrugged.

"Just cause I have a girlfriend doesn't mean I can't see what else is out there!"

Neji sighed, and decided he'd save the lecture for another day.

"Oh!" Naruto exclaimed, turning back to Sasuke who had remained silent all of this time. "How was Italy, Sasuke? You meet any chicks?"

"Hn."

"Was that a yes?" the blonde exclaimed, shocked.

"Yes," Sasuke added.

"Who? What? Where? When? And WHY?"

"Her name was Sakura. She was also vacationing with her family at the same resort my family was at. We met because we would always be in the exercise room at the same time each morning."

"Was she hot?" asked Suigetsu, trying to imagine how perfect this girl must've been to break through Sasuke Uchiha's shell.

"She was very physically attractive. And annoying," he said with a smirk. "I could tell she had a crush on me from the second she saw me."

"What else is new…" Shikamaru groaned. "All girls are obsessed with you."

"Yeah…but she went about it differently. She would always be trying to impress me, and she would always try to talk to me even if I ignored her."

"…is that a good thing?" Neji said, confused.

"Hn."

"What did you guys do together?" Shikamaru continued.

"Once we realized that we had a mutual attraction, she wanted to take me to all these stereotypical tourist attractions. For some reason she loved that kind of stuff."

"So….." Naruto slyly grinned. "Did you get very far?"

Sasuke was silent.

"Ooooh so you didn't!"

He shot Naruto a glare. "We made out a lot."

"Too much information," Shikamaru groaned, crinkling his nose. He really did not want to hear about Sasuke's (nearly) sex life.

"I took her swimming a lot because she looked good in a swimsuit."

"Didja ever go to one of those European topless beaches?" Suigetsu questioned, raising his eyebrows. "I've always dreamed of going to one of those."

"Of course not. I'm not a pervert like you," Sasuke glared.

"But I'm sure you _thought _about it…"

Sasuke chose not to answer.

"Do you have any pictures?" Naruto begged. "I want to see how hot this girl is!"

"No."

Suigetsu and Naruto groaned.

"Then how are we supposed to trust that she's even real?" Naruto pointed out.

"Maybe it was all in Uchiha's imagination," Neji suggested. "Trying to impress us."

"Think what you want to think," Sasuke shrugged. "It's not like I'll ever see her again."

Shikamaru gave him a weird look. "Didn't you get her number?"

"Of course," Sasuke said quickly. "But I never asked where she lived, and texting just isn't the same as seeing each other in person."

"Yeah you probably wouldn't want your very first relationship to be a long-distance relationship," Suigetsu pointed out.

"Do you miss her?" Naruto asked, waiting for Sasuke's reaction.

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. I do miss our time together."

"What was her name?" Neji questioned, crossing his arms.

"Sakura. Sakura Haruno."

* * *

**GUYS CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT THE MOST RECENT NARUTO CHAPTER? (#685) BECAUSE I'M LIKE FREAKIN OUT (IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE)**


	15. Day Fifteen: Her Side of the Story

**IN ORDER TO HAVE THE IDEAL READING EXPERIENCE, PLEASE READ THE CHAPTER BEFORE THIS ! **

* * *

Title: …Happened So Fast

Summary: Ino squealed. "Was it love at first sight?" Sakura smiled slyly. "Oooh it totally was! You're so lucky!"

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Her Side of the Story (day 15)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

It was her first day at her new school, and Sakura was nervous as hell. Before leaving her house (they moved in two days ago), she made sure her shoulder-length hair was perfectly coiffed, her uniform was wrinkle-free, and that she put some nice scented lotion on.

Her motto for the day was: "try not to be a loner."

What she didn't expect was for a group of four girls to approach her, all of them with perfect hair, perfect makeup, and perfectly friendly smiles.

_Am I going to be beat up? On my first day? Mother will be so disappointed…_

But to Sakura's surprise, not a single punch or insult was thrown her way. Instead, the blonde of the group stepped forward and gave her a hug.

"Wha-"

"My name is Ino! You must be the new girl!" she bubbled out, her voice just as girly as she looked.

Sakura nodded. "Yupp. My name's Sakura. I just moved here a few days ago."

"How cool!" the brunette said brightly. Her hair was in a bun at the top of her head, and she was tan and athletic-looking. "Though it must be rough to start a new school for your senior year."

"Mr. Hatake told us you were coming," squeaked out a girl with dark hair and pale eyes. "He said you were a genius back at your old school and that he was excited to have you."

"Yeah right," Ino scoffed. "He's mostly just excited that he'll have a new pretty girl in his class."

"Doubt it," muttered the last girl, her red hair unevenly chopped on one side, and glasses covering her sharp gaze.

"Let me introduce everyone!" Ino said loudly to make up for the redhead's bad attitude.

"We have me, Tenten, Hinata, and Karin!" she explained, pointing at each girl when she called their name. "We're the cool girls on campus!"

_Well that was very forward._

"Pleased to meet you," Sakura nodded.

"So…," Tenten started. "Let's get to know Sakura more! Sakura, how about you tell us what you did with your summer!"

Sakura inwardly rolled her eyes. It's exactly the same question that pretty much every teacher asks you on the first day of school. She certainly didn't expect it to be coming from her fellow students.

"I was in Italy the entire time," Sakura smiled. "It was so great. I loved every moment of it."

"Was the food amazing?" Ino drooled. "I've never been there before, but I'm going to beg my parents to take me next summer!"

"Everything was perfect! I probably ate my entire weight in food every single day," Sakura laughed, slowly growing more comfortable around this group.

"You don't look very tan," Karin commented. Sakura sighed.

"Trust me, I'm a lot more pale naturally."

"Did you meet any cute guys?" Tenten asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"Actually…yes," Sakura admitted, blushing heavily. "There was a boy that I met that was staying at the same resort as I was."

Karin finally looked interested in the conversation. "And how did you meet him?"

"Well I had seen him once before in the lobby, but he didn't see me, so I don't think that counts," Sakura explained. "But I would always run into him in the exercise room in the early morning. I mean, I was there to work off all the pasta calories, but he was obviously used to being at the gym all the time, because he was _ripped_."

"Oooh, so you got to see him shirtless before the first date!" Ino squealed. "I wish I had a hot summer boyfriend…"

"Ino, you have a lot of boys after you," Hinata said quietly. "You could date one whenever you wanted."

The blonde frowned, rubbing Hinata's shoulder. "Hinata…I have yet to find the perfect man for me. I won't settle for anything less."

"So did you and him do it?" Karin interrupted. Sakura's cheeks flushed a bright red.

"No…we only kissed a few times on the lips. No making out or anything…."

"You're so cute, Sakura!" Tenten grinned. "You and Hinata are both so innocent!"

Hinata looked at the ground, a little embarrassed.

Ino squealed. "Was it love at first sight?" Sakura smiled slyly.

"Oooh it totally was! You're so lucky!"

"Though I did convince him to go to all of these gorgeous spots around the resort!" Sakura continued. "I made sure to pick all of the out-of-the-way places were the locals hung out!"

"Do you know where he lives?" Karin asked, eyes narrowed.

Sakura hesitated. "….no. I never brought it up because I didn't want to think of being away from him."

"But you did get his number, right?" Ino exclaimed.

"Definitely! We've only been apart for like a week, so I haven't texted him yet. I'll probably wait for him to send the first one."

"He might not text you at all," Karin added, making Tenten hit her arm disapprovingly.

"From what it sounds like, this guy really has the hots for her!"

"Heh…it really was an unforgettable summer," Sakura said dreamily. "I really do wonder if we'll ever meet again, and if we'd just pick up from where we ended."

"Do you have a picture?" Ino asked, curious as to how good-looking this guy was.

"No," Sakura sighed. "Just mental pictures."

"So basically we have no proof if this story is true," Karin said, crossing her arms. Noticing that Sakura looked quite startled and depressed after that, Hinata cut in.

"It sounds like a really sweet story, Sakura. I wish I could have that kind of experience."

"Well it's over now," Sakura frowned. "At least it was good while it lasted."

"What was this kid's name?" Tenten asked, not like she'd know him anyways.

"Sasuke," Sakura smiled brightly. "Sasuke Uchiha."

The rest of the group collectively gasped.

* * *

**I have most of the next chapter written, but I need to go to sleep for now because it's almost 3am (oops)**


	16. Day Sixteen: Indestructible

Title: Competitive Tension

Summary: Sasuke was the undefeated arm-wrestling champion, so Sakura set out to change that. Meanwhile, Sasuke comes up with the perfect distraction

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Indestructible (day 16)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

"Sasuke, I challenge you to an arm-wrestling match!"

The lunch table went silent as all eyes went to Sakura, who had stood up from her seat and was pointing her finger at the Uchiha sitting at the end. He lifted his eyes from the plate in front of him to stare directly at her.

Fighting goosebumps, Sakura kept her posture strong. She knew she had to do this at some point; it was inevitable. In their group of friends, they had recently started an unofficial arm-wrestling competition. However, until this moment, no girl/boy matches had occurred. So Sakura, being the groundbreaker she was, took it upon herself to go against the one guy with an indestructible record. He hadn't lost yet, much to many of their male friends' chagrin.

The girls of the table weren't surprised in the slightest.

"It was bound to happen eventually," Ino sighed, sharing a knowing look with Hinata.

"They've had so much competitive and sexual tension for so long….it was inevitable," Tenten whispered to the other two.

Sakura remained oblivious to their comments and instead kept her gaze on Sasuke, who had slid his plate away so that there was enough open space on the table. He nodded her over.

"You're going to lose," he smirked. "This is your last chance to back out and I'll pretend like you never said anything."

She huffed in response, sitting down abruptly across from him as everyone else at the table slid down to give them room. "I'm not going to lose. You've never even seen me do this before!"

"I don't need to," he added. "You look like you could barely lift ten pounds."

"Says the soccer player," she added. "Do you even work on your arms? Or is all your muscle in your legs?"

"You'll find out," Sasuke frowned. He put his arm on the table, extending his hand to her. Sakura, trying to ignore how she'd be technically holding hands with him in a few seconds, did the same.

Sasuke clasped their hands together, almost laughing at how small Sakura's hand was compared to his.

Naruto was the reluctant referee, nervously looking at the two before starting the countdown. He wasn't sure who to root for, so he just wanted it to be over soon.

"One….Two….THREE!" he said loudly.

Their hands didn't move.

At first, their friends thought they hadn't started yet, but they soon realized that Sasuke and Sakura were trying their hardest, it was just that they were so evenly matched that they hadn't budged an inch.

"I'm going to demolish you just like I demolished your English test grade," Sasuke taunted.

"The only reason I got a point lower than you was because I accidentally circled the wrong answer on one question!" she protested, narrowing her eyes in concentration. "And I'm not the one who had to get tutored in Biology."

_That _was a good jab, because that's actually how Sakura and Sasuke first met. Their freshmen year, she was his biology tutor.

"I got better," he grunted. Sakura apparently didn't notice that as she leaned forward slightly, Sasuke could partially see down her shirt, and his cheeks were definitely getting red.

The battle swayed to Sakura's side, with her being a few inches in the lead.

"See?" she grinned. "Admit it, I'm stronger than you."

"No," Sasuke replied quickly. Sakura's grin grew even wider.

"I'm stronger, have a better GPA, more ex-" she began to say before something—or some_one_-cut her off.

Before she knew it, Sasuke leaned forward and kissed her, using her moment of absolute shock to slam her hand against the table. When they pulled apart, everyone around them looked scandalized.

"But I stole your first kiss," Sasuke said confidentally. Sakura gaped. What do you even say to that?

"Sasuke! That was your first kiss too!" Naruto pointed out, making Sasuke shoot him a deathly glare. Unfortunately for him, it sure didn't hide his flushed cheeks.

Through her daze, Sakura managed to crack a smile at that.

"So it looks like I still win overall, huh?"

Sasuke was determined to avoid eye contact until he could stop blushing.

"You're so annoying."

* * *

**What did I just write? Sorry guys I'll do better next time haha. I had a long day of work and summer school exams.**


	17. Day Seventeen: Monster

**I went to Pitchfork yesterday so I didn't get any writing done (oops). I don't have work for very long tomorrow so I should get caught up then! **

* * *

Title: Home Invasion

Summary: What Sasuke thought was just another night breaking into a house turned into a night he'd never forget. (Turns out, the house wasn't as empty as he thought)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Monster (day 17)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

Sasuke always liked the dark.

In the dark, no one could stare at you. You are perfectly hidden and blend in with the rest of the night. You become a creature of the night—stealth and control are essential. When he was younger, he always hated the sympathetic looks he would get from everyone he knew. Outwardly they pitied him for the family tragedy, but really they were just curious as to what he would do next.

And what would the son of a family known for crime do?

Commit crimes.

(and not get caught)

So somehow he found himself solo in the burglary business, breaking into the houses of rich assholes, taking valuables that they didn't really need, and selling it for good cash before they realized it was missing.

It wasn't the most glamorous job, but he wasn't exactly the desk-job type of guy anyways.

This night was just like any night. He found a house where the owners had left for Europe for the summer, and as he had observed before, their security system was simple for someone like him to disarm. Plus they lived out of the suburbs and on a generally deserted area of land, so he could even bring his truck to the driveway without worrying about being detected.

It was probably his easiest job to date.

Clothed in his usual outfit of all black, he didn't bother to slip a mask over his face. Besides, it would make him look suspicious as hell if he _did _get caught.

Without even a sound, he slid open a back window, climbing through easily with years of practice.

The room he entered was the living room judging by the array of couches and the large television taking up probably a quarter of the wall.

_Tch. They probably never even use it._

However, he wasn't there for large electronics. Sasuke liked the smaller things: loose cash, debit cards, jewelry…all things the owners might just think they misplaced and then they don't automatically assume they were robbed.

A kitchen was right next to the living room, so he picked up a few pieces of the fine silverware and placed them into his backpack. The rest of the connected rooms were uneventful…dining room, laundry room, shoe closet, and a bathroom. In the office (the last room on the first floor) he took a tablet that was lying out, and without hesitation took a picture of the schedule posted on the wall which showed when they would get home from their vacation and when they worked next. Sasuke often hit up the same place a few times since he would never take an overwhelming amount of items at one time.

The upstairs proved to be a lot more fruitful, with many pieces of jewelry and a wallet finding their way into Sasuke's backpack. He only had one room left, and he was pretty sure it would be another lucky find. It looked like it would be another bedroom judging from the location, and just looking at the closed door made him excited. Maybe some expensive artwork? Designer clothing he could re-sell? There were so many possibilities.

Without a sound, he lightly opened the door, his eyes focusing in the darkness. Thankfully the moon was very bright and the blinds were open, because it was relatively easy to see.

To his immediate left was a dresser, and he marveled at all of the hair products, eye shadows, and perfumes strewn about. He pocked a bracelet or two, but there really wasn't much of worth there. However, something in the mirror caught his eye.

_What is—_he saw movement behind him and almost lost his balance in fright. _What the hell?_

He turned around as soon as he could, directly facing a bed on the opposite wall. It was unnecessarily huge, covered in silky red sheets.

But that wasn't what stood out the most…

…sitting upright was girl no more than 18 years old, her pale skin and long hair illuminated by the moonlight streaming through the window. Her bright green eyes bore into his own, as if she wasn't sure if she was dreaming.

She almost looked like an angel.

(an angel that now knows exactly what his face looks like and could potentially identify him to the police)

"Are you a monster?" she asked quietly, her voice tired and breathy. After all, he did break into her house at 3 am, and she didn't look like the type to stay up very late.

"…what?" he muttered out, wondering what the hell she meant.

Then he realized.

Oh.

Like a monster hiding under her bed.

It was rather fitting, actually.

"Am I dreaming?" she then continued.

"uh…yes," Sasuke affirmed. Better she think that then the opposite.

"You're lying," she smiled. "You just don't want me to get you arrested."

Sasuke could feel his heart start to race. "Your gate's security cameras didn't see me. You have no proof that I was here."

"I know what you look like," she said. "My name's Sakura."

She looked at him expectantly.

"You didn't expect anyone would be home," she said, straightforward. "My _parents _are gone, but I'm here all summer since I'm home from college. Do your parents know you're doing this."

"My parents are dead," Sasuke frowned. Sakura nodded.

"Recently?"

"No, when I was about eight," he replied slowly. Sakura continued to stare.

"Makes sense. People with tragic pasts are more likely to become criminals."

Sasuke snorted. "Well while you're off at college getting some pointless degree, I'm living my life and making good money."

"I'm going to medical school," she countered. "Kinda need a degree for that. And at least my profession won't land me behind bars."

"I don't get caught. Never have and never will."

"What's your name?"

"Not telling," he scoffed. "And you look like the type of girl to care more about looks and boys than school."

"I have a 4.0, but thanks for the assumption. Were you rich as a child?"

"Is this an interview?" Sasuke groaned. Aren't pretty girls supposed to be the types to scream and cry when they encounter a criminal? What's wrong with this girl?

"I think you're interesting," she admitted. "Why haven't you run away yet?"

"I came from a rich family," Sasuke finally answered. "And I'm not sure why I haven't run yet, but I think it's because you're one of the least intimidating people I've ever met. Why didn't you scream when you saw me?"

"That's because I don't think you're going to kill me, and you don't look very violent."

"I could prove you wrong."

"But you won't."

He slowly walked up to the bed until they were only a few feet away from each other. She remained sitting, though the strap of her nightgown had begun to fall, drawing attention to the soft skin of her shoulder.

"Don't tell anyone I was here. Or I will show you my violent side," he said intensely.

"So you're coming back in the future?" she said happily.

"Why would you want me to?" he replied.

"I like you."

Sasuke tried not to blush at how that sounded. Did she _mean_ to make it sound like a love confession?

"I'm leaving," he grunted out before turning on his heel and heading towards the door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Sasuke."

He turned around sharply, eyes wide. "How did you know my name?"

"It's stitched onto the back of your backpack," Sakura smiled. "It must be an old one back when your mother picked things out for you."

Sasuke went silent for a while before he suddenly unzipped his backpack and dumped all of the things he had taken onto the floor.

"I'll see you tomorrow night," he muttered before leaving.

Sakura smiled to herself.

_I hope this wasn't all just a dream…._

* * *

**Just realized I accidentally made a suspenseful ending. Was it a dream? Or did it really happen? We may never know…**


	18. Day Eighteen: Dropping Your Guard

**This one has a lot of the same feel as The Misadventures of Sasuke and His Hormones (one of my completed multifics inspired by a prompt from sasusaku month 2013). So if you like this, go ahead and check that out! **

* * *

Title: When Did THOSE Get There?

Summary: Sasuke never really understood how bindings work until he sees Sakura without them on.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Dropping Your Guard (day 18)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

Naruto let out a low-whistle as he stood with the men of Team 7, Kakashi nodding understandingly, Sai frowning, and Sasuke looking uninterested as usual.

"Ugly is wearing real clothes today," Sai stated calmly, all of their eyes on her lithe frame in the distance as she walked towards them.

"No bindings today," Naruto continued.

"And her favorite dress," Kakashi noticed. "She must have a date later tonight."

Sasuke wrinkled his nose. Since when did these three become experts in Sakura's wardrobe? And why would some stupid dress mean that she was seeing someone else?

The four of them were all going for lunch at Ichiraku (where else?) to catch up on each other's lives (Naruto's idea, of course). They had an S-ranked mission later in the week, and it made sense for them to get more in sync beforehand.

"Who do you think it's with?" Sai mused. "This is about the fourth time in the past two weeks."

"With the same guy?" Naruto asked. "Or with different guys?"

"I think the same," Kakashi answered. "I've seen this one shinobi walking home with her a lot from the hospital."

"She's probably just meeting with Ino," Sasuke mumbled. Naruto smirked.

"Is she, Sasuke? Or is that what you _want _to think?"

"Fuck off."

Kakashi fought back a chuckle.

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late!" Sakura smiled as she approached the group standing outside the restaurant, a little out of breath. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her forehead-protector was absent from her usual hairstyle.

"You look better than usual, Ugly," Sai said bluntly. Sakura laughed.

"Thanks, Sai. Always so kind."

"Lookin' goooood!" Naruto added on, making Sakura sigh.

"Save that for Hinata, dummy."

Naruto sheepishly laughed. "But you do look nice! Are you dressing up for us? Or someone else?"

Sakura ignored his question. "Let's go get a table! I'm starving."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Why did she avoid answering?

* * *

Their lunch went by quickly, each exchanging how their days had gone, what missions they had completed recently, as well as some good Konoha gossip. Sai had recently left Anbu in favor of taking more escort and bodyguard missions, Kakashi had been considering doing some writing in his free time to continue the Icha Icha series (much to Sakura's chagrin), Naruto had finally received the Hyuuga family's official approval to court Hinata, and Sasuke was almost finished working off his probation by doing countless C- and D-ranked missions.

Sakura, on the other hand, had been busy with missions that she could not discuss (Kakashi once told Sasuke that she had been recruited to do a lot of seduction missions lately, which he definitely did not approve of, even though most of the time the target ended up dead before anything serious happened). And when she wasn't busy with missions, she was co-head of the hospital alongside Shizune while Tsunade was transitioning into some sort of retirement.

As usual, Sakura and Naruto talked for most of the meal, with Kakashi, Sai, and Sasuke passively listening.

"—and so that's how I managed to drag Suigetsu in for his check up!" Sakura giggled, recalling how difficult the white-haired shinobi could be when it came to such simple things.

Sasuke inwardly sighed.

After the war, team Taka had agreed to become Konoha citizens (with shorter probation periods than Sasuke since they had not betrayed the village in the first place), causing nothing but chaos. Juugo was fine, but the other two sure weren't. Karin had become obsessed with Sakura, at first wanting to be rivals, but then later wanting "the girl that saved my life and healed me before the war" to be her mentor and inspiration for studying medical jutsu. The only positive thing was that she had (very vocally) given up on Sasuke, dramatically saying he belonged to someone else and she shouldn't waste her time on him.

Suigetsu had become like Naruto had been at twelve, eagerly learning the perverted harem jutsu, claiming he'd become one of the top ninja in the village, and being absolutely obsessed with Sakura.

It was like looking into the past, which was scary. (Naruto thought it was hilarious, though)

"All you have to do is promise to wear a nurse's uniform and Suigetsu would come in right away," Naruto pointed out. Sakura crinkled her nose.

"I guess I'll have to consider that in the future."

Sasuke had spent almost the entire time completely ignoring his ramen in favor of staring at Sakura. She seemed very different in civilian clothing, and it was odd to get used to. He was used to seeing her in either her Anbu uniform (he had long ago deduced which mask identity was hers), doctor's coat, or her usual shinobi outfit.

He was certainly not used to seeing her lips tinted cherry red, her already mile-long legs in high heels, and an inch or two of cleavage slightly peeking out of the top of her dress. (it was amazing the difference not wearing bindings made)

Sakura seemed to notice his mood, but did not appear to recognize his covert staring.

"Is something wrong, Sasuke?" she asked. He couldn't help but notice her tone had a twinge of her doctor-voice, treating him as a potential patient and not as a close friend.

Close friends? Is that what they were?

Were they just teammates?

Were they _anything_?

Ever since returning to Konoha, Sasuke had been thinking about that a lot. The determination she had to save him during the war had taken him aback, and she had matured into quite the impressive kunoichi. And he would never admit it out loud, but every time he thought of who he was going to restore the Uchiha clan with, she was the only one that came to mind.

The issue was approaching the topic.

It was pretty obvious that he had zero experience in going after women, since he had spent most of his life making efforts to ignore them. What if she did not feel the same way? Even though she showed such tenderness during the war, she had yet to bring up her feelings, and seemed to pretend that she had never confessed her love to him the night he left Konoha.

"No," he grunted simply. He noticed the subtle way her expression fell and tried not to feel guilty. He probably wasn't helping his situation any.

"Well I have to get back to the hospital so I can finish some paperwork before tonight!" Sakura announced to the table, her ramen half-finished.

"Why?" Kakashi prodded. "Do you have a hot date tonight?"

Sakura flushed. "Don't say things like that, Kakashi-sensei!"

Her formal teacher chuckled. "Just teasing, Sakura. Though feel free to tell me any details later!"

"Goodbye everyone," she huffed out, not bothering to address them individually. She placed money on the table before quickly leaving, Sasuke's eyes never leaving her retreating figure.

"We need to do something about this date," Naruto said suddenly, making sure Sakura was well out of earshot.

"Definitely," Kakashi nodded.

"I doubt this guy is good enough for her," Sai added. Sasuke looked at him weirdly. Since when was _Sai _so invested in Sakura's life? He wasn't even part of their original team!

"I'm leaving too," Sasuke said bluntly, also placing money on the table. He had made up his mind.

It was now or never; he was going to talk to Sakura.

He didn't see the knowing look Kakashi and Naruto shared.

"Why?" Sai asked. Sasuke failed to think of an appropriate response.

"Because."

"Can you give this to Sakura when you see her?" Kakashi said, handing Sasuke a folded piece of paper.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, taking the slip without really caring too much about it (or realizing what Kakashi was implying).

He left in a rush, following the pink-haired girl's strong chakra signature through the village.

* * *

When he reached Sakura, she surprisingly was not headed towards the hospital, and was instead in her apartment a few blocks away. He knocked on the door loudly, and she opened the door with a bright smile.

"Who is i—oh. Sasuke, what are you doing here?" she said confusedly, looking him over. "Are you sick? Do you need healing?"

Is that what she thought of him? That he only came to her when he needed something from her?

"No."

"Uh…okay," she responded a little awkwardly. "Do you want to come in?"

"Hn."

He walked in slowly, closing the door behind him.

"You can take a seat or something," she offered, gesturing to the couch a few yards away. "I'm almost done cooking."

He looked over at her kitchen. The oven was on, and the air smelt like cookies. She hurriedly cleared the counters and put dirty dishes into the sink, pushing back a few stray strands of hair that fell into her face when she leaned over. (also revealing more cleavage to his gaze)

"So what do you need?" she questioned, glancing over and noticing his stare.

"Have you been going on dates recently?"

Sakura's cheeks lit up and her eyes widened. "W-what?"

"Have you been going on dates recently?" he repeated.

"Uh…not really," she stammered out. "Why do you ask?"

"That wasn't a very strong 'no.'"

Sakura sighed. "I've been doing a lot of interviews of hospital positions recently. There's one guy in particular I'm considering for my assistant, so I've been meeting with him a lot."

"Is that why you're not wearing bindings?"

Her cheeks turned an even darker shade of red. "W-why should it matter if I want to look nice? I'm sure you're going on dates all of the time with how many girls ask you out daily..."

"I've never been on a date," Sasuke said in a deadpan tone. Sakura looked shocked, much to his annoyance. Why would she think otherwise?

"Ever?"

"Of course not. Why would I date someone I had no intention of marrying?"

Sakura averted her eyes to the counter and started to busy herself with taking a wet rag and wiping the flour off.

"I guess that makes sense," she said a little sadly.

"—but you could show me how it is done."

Her eyes shot up to meet his own.

"Are you-"

"You're already dressed up and everything. I'm sure you can reschedule with that guy since he isn't very important."

"I g-guess," Sakura stuttered out, starting to feel like Hinata in her genin years. "But are you saying tha-"

"I'll come back in four hours. Be ready then," he said finally, standing up to leave now that he had told her all that he needed to say.

"D-definitely! I mean…uh…okay, sure…" Sakura nervously rambled out.

"Hn," he nodded. "And Kakashi wanted me to give this to you."

He handed her the slip of paper before turning to leave.

Once he was gone, Sakura let out a shaky breath. _Did that really just happen? Or am I dreaming?_

Curiously, she unfolded the paper.

* * *

_Dear Sakura,_

_If you're reading this, I just want to wish you luck on your date with Sasuke! And when you need to start thinking of baby names, I definitely would not mind your first son to be named after me!_

_- your loveable sensei _

* * *

**OMG GUYS THAT WESTERN ARTWORK FOR CHAPTER 686 **

**DEFINITELY MAKING A PROMPT WITH THAT THEME**

**IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY**


	19. Day Nineteen: Rusty

**Inspired by the 10 minutes I spent at a car shop this morning to get the lock on the driver's side fixed. (unfortunately, no cute workers, but at least I got some free coffee)**

* * *

Title: Start Your Engines

Summary: Naruto noticed where Sasuke was staring."Oh, that's Sakura. Good luck…basically every guy here wants her." / Sasuke starts working at an automotive shop and soon finds himself very interested in his only female coworker

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Rusty (day 19)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

Sasuke needed a job to pay through graduate school, and needless to say, he wasn't exactly cut out for food service or retail.

He had tried both, but between his awful disposition and annoyance with all of the girls that tried to give him their numbers, he usually ended up quitting after the first few weeks.

Thankfully, his best friend Naruto soon realized his plight and decided to help Sasuke out. He got him an interview at the automotive shop where he worked at, and it didn't take long for him to get hired. He didn't have to talk with people, and he got to use problem-solving skills in order identify and fix issues with broken cars.

His first day, he came into the shop dressed in a black tshirt and stained jeans. (he was thankful that they got to wear what they wanted instead of some ugly regulation jumpsuit)

The owner, a grey-haired man named Kakashi, didn't really take time to introduce him to his coworkers, so Naruto took it upon himself to show him who's who and what they were like,

"Shikamaru's the guy with the ponytail. He's lazy as hell, but basically a genius. Kiba's the guy with the face tattoos, and once you get over his ego, he's a pretty great guy. Obsessed with his dog and talks about him all the time," he explained, pointing at each worker as they were working. "Choji's the big guy over there, but don't make fun of his weight, or he'll punch you. Shino's the guy with the shades, and he basically never talks unless it's absolutely necessary."

However, as Sasuke looked around at each of his new coworkers, a thin figure in the back of the shop caught his eye.

It was a girl no more than twenty years old, short strawberry-blonde pulled back into a slightly sweaty ponytail. She wore skintight black leggings, combat boots, and the tiny red crop-top that showed off a hint of her toned abdomen. She was entirely focused on the car in front of her, bent over as she inspected something under the hood. Her skin glistened with sweat and looked pale, smooth, and flawless in the dim lighting.

Naruto noticed where Sasuke was staring. "Oh, that's Sakura. Good luck with her…basically every guy here wants her."

He wasn't really surprised. A girl that hot would not be expected to work in a place like this.

"Why is she here?" he asked bluntly.

"Oh, she's the owner's daughter," Naruto explained. "She pretty much grew up around cars, though she's only here part-time. I think she's going through medical school or something."

Sasuke almost laughed at that, just because it sounded too good to be true. She seemed too perfect.

There _had _to be something wrong with her, and he was determined to find out.

* * *

Somehow Sasuke had lucked out, and when he received his designated "station" to work in, his was the one right next to Sakura's. He vaguely wondered if she was the type of girl to fawn over him (he sincerely hoped she wasn't. that wouldn't be entertaining at all)

Seeing that the car in front of him only needed a few things tightened under the hood, Sasuk grabbed a wrench to start his work.

Up close, he could observe Sakura much better. He could see the bright green of her eyes, and that she didn't have her fingernails painted. She had some mascara on, but not anything else. Her skin was just naturally smooth, he supposed. He wondered what perfume she used, because he could just so slightly sme—

"—you're using the wrong wrench, you know," she said plainly, her voice as melodic as he imagined. Seeing his expression of shock, she giggled.

_She even has a pretty laugh. That's one more thing on the list of "things that can't be wrong with her." _Sasuke inwardly sighed.

"My name's Sakura," she introduced. "I'd shake your hand, but I have grease all over me."

In fact, she did—her hands and forearms were smeared with the occasional streak of black.

"I'm Sasuke," he said brusquely.

"Okay!" she nodded. "You already seem a lot nicer than the guy who used to have that spot. His name was Sai, and he was such an asshole. I'm glad my dad fired him."

"Your dad?" Sasuke asked, feigning ignorance.

"Kakashi," she replied. "I bet that answers your 'why would a girl be working with cars?' question."

He smirked. "Not quite."

Her nose crinkled and she gave him a weird look. "What, then?"

"Why here and not waitressing or something else?"

"I already get enough rude patients at the hospital; I don't want to deal with rude customers in my free time," she explained.

"You work at a hospital?"

"I'm in med school so I have part-time shifts there," she replied. "How about you? Are you in school?"

"Graduate school," Sasuke answered. "For business and finance."

"How boring," she said simply before going back to work on the rusty car in front of her.

* * *

"You came up in conversation yesterday with Naruto," Sasuke said to her the next day, thoroughly enjoying the shirt she wore (White and nearly see-through. He could see the outline of her pink sports bra)

"How so?" she asked absent-mindedly. He wondered what she thought of him.

"He said you graduated two years early and that's why you're so young yet far through medical school."

"Yup," she grinned. "What's the point of school if you don't try hard?"

"There's a difference between trying hard and being an overachiever," he scoffed. Did being an overachiever count as a flaw?

"I've always been book-smart," she explained quickly. "You just have to put the effort into studying hard and often."

"He said you were the valedictorian and student body president. I'm sure you were very popular"

She ignored his condescending tone. "I also won Prom Queen. And if you're looking for a list of all my high school achievements, I'll be happy to write one out for you," she said sarcastically.

_Hmm…so not unpopular. Not that I expected her to be a complete nerd—you can't be a loner with looks like that._

"How about you?" she asked.

"I was in the top 5 for GPA since my time was so dedicated to varsity sports," he said proudly.

"I'm sure your sports experiences have done so much for your working life," she commented. He scowled.

_Well played, well played._

* * *

"Did you date a lot in high school or college?" Sasuke asked the next day, making Sakura jump in surprise. What kind of question was that?

"A little, though I really didn't have much time to," she sheepishly admitted.

"But did you get asked out a lot?" he continued. She looked thoughtful, even though she was halfway through changing the oil of some random old car.

"Yeah. I guess. Never really counted though."

Sasuke frowned. There goes his next question.

"How about you?" she said, surprising him.

"All the girls at my school were annoying. Even more than you."

She laughed. "I'm annoying?"

"Hn."

"First time I've heard _that_," she said off-handedly, though she was secretly quite worried on the inside. She felt her mood drop a little at his words, and she had a sneaking suspicion that it was because she was starting to really like this highly-attractive coworker of hers.

_We'll see how this goes_….she mused.

* * *

"I give up."

Sakura gave Sasuke a weird look. "Give up what?"

"I give up. There's nothing wrong with you," he frowned, glancing away from his work and towards her confused expression.

"Is that why you have been so interested in my life?" Sakura asked, obviously insulted. "So that you could find something to make fun of?"

Sasuke frowned. "No. I just didn't think you could be so perfect."

Sakura blushed fiercely.

Seeing her reaction, Sasuke had a thought, one that he was surprised that he didn't realize until now.

He had a new goal: make Sakura Haruno even more perfect than she already was

(by getting her to date him, of course)

* * *

**Ugh it's already 3am and I have work at 11.**


	20. Day Twenty: My Mistake

**Why are all my titles inspired by songs recently?**

**I think I might post the sasusaku playlist I have onto 8tracks or something and then put it on my tumblr if any of you guys are interested **

* * *

Title: Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)

Summary: The first time Sasuke Uchiha met Sakura Haruno, he was staring down the barrel of her gun.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: My Mistake (day 20)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

The first time Sasuke Uchiha met Sakura Haruno, he was staring down the barrel of her gun.

She had slammed into him more roughly than he had expected, leaving him lying on the ground with her standing over him. His hand twitched towards the spare pistol he kept in his boot, but for now he kept watching her cautiously.

Just by glancing over her, he could tell that she definitely wasn't like the girls back home.

Her button-down was cut short, showcasing the smooth, toned skin of her abdomen, and her shorts barely covered her rear. Sasuke didn't even realize who she was at first—he just thought she was some crazy girl with something to prove.

(which was only partially true)

"Itachi Uchiha, you're coming with me," she growled out, eyes narrowing. The brim of her hat cast a shadow on her face, and the heel of her left boot was beginning to press down on Sasuke's chest.

"You've got the wrong guy," he sighed, obviously used to this sort of thing. "I'm not Itachi."

She snorted. "Yeah. _Sure_. You just _happen _to look exactly like his Wanted poster," she explained, gesturing over to the sheet of paper nailed to a nearby post.

_Itachi Uchiha_

_Wanted Dead or Alive_

_100 Thousand Dollars_

"The better question is—who are _you_?" Sasuke shot back, his displeasure growing evident as a bead of sweat trailed down his forehead.

"Sakura Haruno."

He gave her a blank look and she dug her heel in harder.

"Ever hear of Lady Tsunade?" she continued.

"Of course," he replied. "One of the three legendary bandits."

"She's the one who taught me all I know," she said proudly, not realizing that Sasuke was using most of this time to scan his eyes over her lithe frame. It was obvious she was very physically fit, yet still was quite pale even though she presumably spent most of her time outside. (not like he was one to talk, though)

"So? I was taught by Orochimaru, one of the other members."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Then you're not Itachi."

Her weight lifted from his chest, and he took the opportunity to jump back up on his feet. Apparently she trusted him a lot more than she should, because as soon as she lowered her gun, he pounced, backing her up against the very same post that the wanted posters were nailed onto.

Their eye contact was sizzling with intensity, and Sakura could feel her heart racing.

"You disrespected me," Sasuke growled. "So give me one reason why I shouldn't shoot you right in the throat."

He pulled out the gun from his boot and pressed the cool barrel against her neck. She gulped, feeling it dig in even further.

"You sure take offense for being mistaken for your brother," Sakura noted, definitely playing with fire. Sasuke did not seem pleased with her confidence.

"My only goal in life is to hunt him down and kill him," Sasuke said smoothly, eyes narrowing. The heat of their breaths mixed, and for some reason he found himself feeling much hotter than usual under the blazing sun.

"And in the meantime?" she asked.

"Making money by taking down assorted low-lives."

Sakura smiled, confusing him.

"Seems we got something in common, then."

He put the gun down, though not backing away an inch. "What are you trying to say?"

"What do you say about us working together?"

He gave her a blank look.

"—as a team?"

"….."

"As in traveling together."

Sasuke mulled over this for a second. On one hand, he considered himself more of an independent man, but it would always be more useful to have a partner of sorts. She was trained by one of the best so he knew she wouldn't hold him back, and she was definitely easy on the eyes. With her looks, she could be very useful in finding out information, and would potentially make opponents underestimate them.

She was nervous, he could tell. Her cheeks were flushed, and her breath came in subtly short pants, making her chest heave up and down.

"…so what do you say?" she said slowly, observing him for any indication of a reaction.

"Hn."

"Is that a yes?"

"Hn."

Dramatically sighing, she used one hand to lightly push him off. "Well I'm coming with you whether you like it or not."

Sasuke gave her a strange look but she dismissed it as him not being used to people being so attached to him.

"We're leaving now, so go get your horse."

She smiled sheepishly.

"I kinda….lost my horse…..so we're going to have to get very close very soon."


	21. Day Twenty-One: Rewind the Time

Title: One More Time with Feeling

Summary: The final dimension Kaguya subjected them to was eerily like the Sharingan, and Sasuke finds himself reliving the most painful moments of his life over and over again. But what he didn't expect was for one moment in particular to show up.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Rewind the Time (day 21)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

This world was dark.

Cold.

Unexpected.

Looking around, Sasuke couldn't see a single one of his team members, even though just seconds ago they had been standing side-by-side.

He panicked.

What if Kaguya had found the real Naruto instead of just his clone?

What if Obito had died, along with all of the information and leverage he could provide against Madara?

What if Kakashi got too lost in his own emotions?

What if Sakura—what if Sakura was just too low on chakra and couldn't make it?

He tried to push those thoughts out of his mind and instead focus on his surroundings.

What new dimension was this? It was certainly a lot different than the ones before it. He almost preferred the desert he had been in earlier.

The sound of a child crying filled his ears, even though he could not see the source.

_Foolish little brother_

The image of his parents' body lying in a pool of blood appeared in front of him, Itachi's cold eyes staring into his own.

_If you wish to kill me…_

It was unbearable.

_Hate me…_

Now that he knew the truth of the massacre, he couldn't bear to watch.

_Detest me…_

He had gone over the scene thousands of times in his mind, but never had to experience it so vividly.

_And yet survive in an unsightly way…_

Trying to close his eyes, Sasuke found that he could not. It was as if his body was completely out of his control, just as it had been under the influence of the curse seal.

_Run…_

This couldn't be happening. It was all an illusion.

_Run and cling to life._

He screamed, his voice raw and thoughts bloody.

* * *

The next scene was just as vivid as the last.

It was from his final battle with Itachi, His brother's forehead touched his own, and he felt the same bodily exhaustion as he had felt back then.

_You don't have to forgive me…_

Sasuke tried to focus his thoughts. He knew this wasn't real, so he just had to try to dispel whatever jutsu he was under. But did it even count as a jutsu? Was it even escapable? He could not get out of the last dimension by himself; he had to have Sakura and Obito's assistance.

_No matter what you decide to do from now on…_

Although his cheeks were dry, he still felt the unfamiliar burning sensation of tears.

_….I will love you forever._

* * *

For what felt like hours…days…..maybe weeks….Sasuke watched his parents and Itachi die countless times, always in the same succession and always just as painful as the last time had been.

It was torture.

Pure torture.

He hadn't felt this sort of emotional pain since his curse seal had last taken over, or the last time he had been driven mad by the sharingan.

And as if that thought had the power to change the dimension, his surroundings changed, this time much different than what he had been experiencing before.

Sakura stood in front of him, though his vision was mostly blurred by a deep crimson red. His head spun, and his thoughts raced so quickly he could barely understand what was happening.

_I'll do whatever you want me to do! I don't want to have any more regrets! _Sakura assured, hand clasped to her chest. And although her words were genuine, with his sharingan he could see the hesitation in her stance, the slight waver in her tone.

It angered him to no end.

"Would you really betray Konoha for me?" he felt himself ask, though the words felt foreign on his tongue.

She flinched. _…Yes…if…..you say so…._

Liar. She was lying! There was no way she was telling the truth, and it would be blindingly obvious to anyone who knew her even slightly.

"Then…you'll have to prove it…" he growled. "If you kill her, I'll let you come with me."

Although Karin was not physically there in the illusion, he could tell Sakura was appalled at the idea.

_Who is she…?_ It was almost pathetic, the way she seemed to show care for someone she had never met. Shinobi were never supposed to have hesitation or empathy, two things that Sakura would always struggle with. It was her nature, and he saw right through her.

"One of the members of my team. As you can see, she's no use to me now," he replied, his voice slow and menacing. He hated it. He just wanted this to be over and to go back to whatever Kaguya would do in her own dimension. Enough of these memories that he never wanted to be reminded of.

"Sakura…you were a healer, weren't you. You'll make a good replacement for her."

Although she walked up confidently, her hand slightly trembled.

"What's wrong? Sakura…can't you do it?"

He saw through her intentions. She was there to kill him. It was blatantly obvious. The way she came alone—the way she so overtly lied to his face—it was an ultimate betrayal.

So blinded by the darkness, he approached her from behind, chidori activating without him even thinking through it.

Her horror-struck eyes were the last thing he saw.

* * *

Apparently the last memory had been the last, and Sasuke had the feeling that it had to do with it being the only one that didn't have to do with his family. It was the only one where he was not in control of himself, and it brought him back to a time he was nothing but a monster that acted on carnal instinct.

Hurting those closest to him—that was not the kind of person his brother wanted him to be.

It was awful to relive. Besides Itachi, Sakura was the only one who had confessed (and proven) her love for him after the Uchiha Massacre. He was disgusted with himself for having fallen so far into darkness in the past.

But his surroundings changed to that of which he had been in before the illusions had started. Naruto and Sakura stood by his side, neither one showing any apparent signs of having lived through the same experience as he did.

(just seeing Sakura made his chest pang with guilt)

Kaguya looked at him knowingly, almost challenging him to say something.

.

.

.

Unfortunately for her, she picked the wrong person's mind to toy with.

* * *

**Wow sometimes I just think about Itachi's whole life story and just feel so hopelessly sad. He definitely has the most tragic background of any Naruto character, and that sure as hell is saying a lot.**


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two: Exposed

**I really like this idea of Sasuke and Sakura just softly observing each other's bodies, so if any of you guys can think of other fics like this, please tell me! I want to read someee.**

* * *

Title: My Body is a Cage

Summary: Her body was soft and inviting, with every scar a testament to the rough life as a shinobi. (some scars just never quite heal)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Exposed (day 22)

Rating: M

Warnings: nudity (but not raunchy at all)

* * *

The morning light streamed in through the sheer curtains, rousing Sasuke from his deep sleep. Due to the previous night's rather rough activities, he and Sakura hadn't even bothered to cover themselves with the bedsheets, lying next to each other completely nude.

(not that he minded in the slightest, of course)

Getting married to Sakura was strange, and not for the reasons he expected. Going into it, they both knew that he was not a romantic; their relationship was unbreakable, but also hard to explain. It wasn't the fairy tale ending Sakura was told to aspire to as a young girl, but then again that sort of life was near impossible for any shinobi. Every time one of them left on a mission, their goodbyes were precious since there was always the slight possibility it would be their last. So when they were both mission-free and off-duty, they made the absolute best of their time reveling in each other's bodies.

Being a medical ninja, Sakura had the luxury of smooth, porcelain-like skin, and due to the jutsu Tsunade had passed on, would likely stay that way until the day she died. Her hair was always cut to her shoulders, a constant reminder of one of the many times she risked her life for him and consequently broke through his darkness.

Her body was lithe and toned from her extensive taijutsu training, but unlike a lot of kunoichi, she still appeared dainty and feminine. Sasuke couldn't count the number of times Sakura complained about it; she always hated being underestimated due to her appearance. However, now that team seven was considered the new generation of sannin, it was hard to find a shinobi who had not heard of the violent "cherry blossom of Konoha."

A lot of people in the village were surprised when Sasuke proposed to Sakura, as if they had never expected it of him even though he had always had the goal of restoring his clan to its former greatness. And Sakura was the obvious choice to do so, and not just because she was known as the top kunoichi of Konoha. Throughout their lives, she and Naruto were the only ones that had believed in him the entire way through, and Sakura was the only person who had confessed their genuine love to him after his parents had died.

Even though she had never brought it up after the war, they both knew how meaningful the night of her confession had been. If he had not been so blinded by Itachi's influence, he definitely would have stayed. It may sound trite, but the feeling of someone truly caring for him felt a lot better than any power offered to him.

She made him feel human after all the years of him being a monster.

Staring at her body in the subtle light of the morning made her look even more like the angel she was.

(He almost laughed at himself for thinking it. It seemed like every day he came closer and closer to being an actual romantic.)

She faced him, her left leg draped over his own. Her body was soft and inviting, with every scar a testament to the rough life as a shinobi.

She had two in total, both of which she refused to heal even though she definitely had the skill and chakra-control to do so.

The first was the thin matching lines on her abdomen and back, barely two inches in length. She had gotten the scar from her battle with Sasori protecting an elder of the Sand Village, and she once told Sasuke that if she had to replay that battle over and over again, she would always choose the same option. Saving Chiyo led to the saving of Gaara's life, for which she was eternally grateful. Seeing the older woman die so selflessly inspired her tremendously, and it showed in her face every time she successfully pulled a person from death's door.

The second covered her entire right bicep, a swirling burn that barely showed up on her pale skin. In most lighting, it wasn't even visible, but Sasuke always knew it was there. It was from the shinobi war, after she had used up nearly all of her chakra to save Sasuke from the dimension he had been trapped in. She didn't even think anything of it in the moment; she was so determined to save him that she almost passed out from exhaustion. (he had to catch her to keep her from falling)

Ironically, she had no idea it wasn't the first time he had caught her from falling. It reminded him of the chunin exams, where she had risked her life saving him from a Shukaku-controlled Gaara, and he had managed to catch her falling body just before she hit the ground. Gaara had been brought to sanity by her sacrifice, and needless to say…so was Sasuke.

Did he deserve her love? Probably not, but without it, he would have never been able to pull himself from the darkness.

He recalled her expression the first time they had kissed.

It came out of nowhere; they had just finished sparring, and Sasuke was getting frustrated with how distant she had been since he had returned to the village. So he did the most obvious thing: showed her how much he cared.

And it worked.

It worked _very _well, considering it only took a few more months for her to move into the Uchiha compound and have a huge wedding that pretty much half the village attended.

And now…

He glanced over her abdomen, ever-so-slightly bulging out rather than its usual flatness.

With her help, the Uchiha clan would soon be restored to its full glory.

(and he would never have been able to do it without her)

* * *

**helloooooooo fluff **

**I rarely write stuff that's so blatantly romantic, but chapter 685 has just got me feelin' it hardcore. **


	23. Day Twenty-three: Cup of Hot Tea

**Title inspired by this musical theater song called "Taylor the Latte Boy." (real cute song. Definitely recommend)**

* * *

Title: Sasuke the Latte Boy

Summary: Every day at 8:11am, Sakura came in to Konoha Cafe both to get her daily caffeine fix and to watch her favorite barista.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt A Hot Cup of Tea (day 23)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

Every day without fail, Sakura Haruno stopped by at the Konoha Café right across the street from her medical school's campus to order her usual: latte with five shots of espresso and almond milk.

And every day without fail, she watched the barista make her complicated drink, taking in his chiseled features, mysterious air, and his tendency to only wear the color black.

Needless to say, she was basically head over heels "in like" with this barista, even though she knew nothing about him besides the "hey" he would acknowledge her with every time she walked in, so matter how busy their 8am rush was.

Today was the day, Sakura decided.

Today she would muster up the courage, gather up all the self-confidence she had, put on her favorite red top….

….and ask him his name.

Wednesdays were normally slow days at the café, so when she strode in, it was mostly empty, the dark-haired boy being the only worker she could see.

"Hey," he said in his usual deep voice. He seemed like the bad-boy type, which normally Sakura would never dream of going for, but for some reason she was just really drawn to him.

"I'll have my usual," Sakura smiled nervously, and he gave her a nod. He walked over to get a to-go cup and begun pouring in the coffee base for her drink.

"What's your name?"

Sakura was delightfully shocked, while also embarrassed at how red her cheeks got at that question. He asked first! _He asked first! _He _never _talked to customers! What did she do to draw his attention?

"Uh—Sakura," she stammered out, adverting her eyes to the ground quickly and not seeing the cursory glance he sent her way. "What's yours?"

"Sasuke," he said simply as he handed her the cup, now full with the steaming liquid. Their fingers brushed, and Sakura felt butterflies in her stomach.

She began to pull out her credit card, but he waved his hand at her to stop.

"It's on the house."

The rest of the day, Sakura barely kept attention in class. All she could think about was the small quirk of Sasuke's lips as he looked at her with those dark eyes of his.

_I'm definitely in over my head…_

* * *

To Sakura's surprise, the next day the café was just as empty as the day before. Was the universe giving her a blessing? Maybe it was all balancing out the past two years, where she couldn't find a single decent guy no matter how many dates she went on.

Konoha was a big city, but Sakura admittedly picky. She was very busy a lot of the time, and didn't want anyone lazy and unmotivated. Hardcore partiers were also out of the question; her dating experiences in her undergraduate years at college sure taught her that. She also needed someone extremely loyal, since she unfortunately has always been self-conscious, mostly due to being bullied in elementary school for her appearance.

"Hey," Sasuke greeted. "Your usual?"

"I'd actually like to try something new today," Sakura smiled lightly. "What do you recommend?"

He gave her a blank look for a moment and she inwardly panicked.

"Hmm…our chai tea is very good. You look like a sweet type of girl," he offered.

Seeing her confused expression, he continued to elaborate: "you look like the kind of person that loves sweets."

"Heh…," Sakura laughed sheepishly. "What's _your _favorite?"

"Black coffee."

_Hmm. Should've guessed. He doesn't seem like he's phased by any bitter taste._

He got to work on her drink, but to her surprise, he also began pouring another different one.

Once he handed her the chai tea, he picked up the other cup.

"Where you like to sit?" he asked as if it wasn't a big deal. (It was)

Sakura wondered if she was dreaming. Ino was _so _going to hear about this later…

She sat down at a small table right next to the window, the chilly autumn temperature making the place slightly cold.

"So do you go to the medical school?" he asked before taking a sip of his steaming cup of black coffee.

Nodding, she also took a slow gulp of her chai tea. Sasuke was right, the sweetness tasted amazing, enveloping her taste buds with its froth. "I skipped a few grades, so I'm already in my third year. After the fourth year, I'll get to go into my residency."

He let out a low whistle. "That sounds like a lot."

"Do you work here full-time?"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. "Only morning shifts. I'm working through law school."

Sakura had never really discussed it with anyone before, but she had always dreamed of marrying a lawyer. They seemed like the perfect match for a doctor, and they had just the perfect amount of intensity and confidence. (Also, their schedule was a lot more flexible than hers would be, so they could take care of any kids when she was on-call)

"I'm also in a band, but I don't think it's really going anywhere. My friend Naruto just wants to do it for fun, so we gathered a few people together," he said off-handedly.

Sakura's mouth fell open. "You know Naruto?"

"He's probably my closest friend," Sasuke frowned. "Why?"

"He and I were best friends in High School! I haven't seen him in forever!" Sakura bubbled.

"Well…," Sasuke started. "We are having a pretty casual concert at the Bijuu Bar downtown. You can come. It starts around 10pm."

Was he inviting her out?

(Maybe not officially, since he'd technically be playing the entire time."

"Sure, it sounds cool," Sakura replied quickly. She noticed that his cup was now empty, as was hers.

"I got to get back to work now," he explained. "I guess I'll see you tonight."

Sakura was silent as he walked back to the counter. She began to gather her things, but as she picked up her cup, she noticed that there was something written on there.

Clearly written in black permanent marker was a phone number. She felt her heartbeat speed up to frantic pace.

Looking over to the counter, she managed to catch Sasuke's gaze. He gave her a satisfied smirk, making her insides squirm.

As she left, she couldn't help but break into a giddy smile.

_Tonight's going to be a great night, I'm sure of it._


	24. Day Twenty-four: Glory

**SORRY I'VE BEEN SO BAD ON UPDATES! I've been at varsity dance camp, and we've been dancing 8 hours a day and I still have homework to do for my online classes.**

* * *

Title: Money, Power, and Glory

Summary: She knew it was wrong, but ever since she met the youngest son of the Uchiha family, small-town girl Sakura found herself inexplicitly drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Glory (day 24)

Rating: M

Warnings: none

* * *

Throughout her life, Sakura had always been used to living on quite little. Her parents weren't necessarily poor, but they did not have extra money to spend on nice clothes or a big house, and they could only afford to have one child. They both worked full-time jobs, leaving Sakura to learn how to fend for herself and make something of her life. She worked hard throughout school and had made it into the most prestigious college in the country, but unfortunately that came with an odd sort of consequences she had not expected.

Being a small-town girl, she did not look or dress the same as most of the student body, who decked themselves out in designer clothing and $100 haircuts. Sakura dressed fairly simply, and kept her hair to shoulder length instead of keeping it at her waist. However, although she never acknowledged it, she was well above average in attractiveness, meaning that it was even harder for her to make steady female friends, and difficult to find male friends that were not just interested in having sex with her.

She also had a distinct look of innocent, with big green eyes, porcelain skin, and pale strawberry-blonde hair. This made her irresistible to the preppy bad-boys of the University, and she often found herself cornered in the hallway, usually relying on her rough punches to push away boys that got to close.

It was just easier to not be close to anyone at school.

Nevertheless, that all changed when she met Sasuke Uchiha.

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha was the richest, most notoriously cold-hearted boy at their school, a sophomore just like Sakura was. His dad owned one of the most powerful companies in the world, and he grew up in utmost privilege. Unlike Sakura, he wasn't required to work a day in his life, even though he definitely had the talent to succeed at almost anything he set his mind to.

About a month ago, he realized that one of those things was the petite Sakura Haruno, who spent most of her free-time in the library, never had been to a single college party, and was rumored to have never tried drugs, drank, or had sex.

She was the biggest challenge he had ever met.

He started by going to the library more often, sitting a few tables away with her back to him. Then, he got braver, choosing a seat that faced her front so he could see her determined look as she poured over each textbook, oblivious to her surroundings as she bit her lip in concentration.

* * *

He came in so often that Sakura was beginning to think that he was just there to watch her, but then again, that notion sounded silly considering she had no reason to believe that the most popular, desired boy in school would show any sort of interest in her.

But she would always steal the occasional glance, watching him flip through random pages of a notebook. He must be a speed-reader, since she could not imagine reading as fast as he did.

She did feel rather hopeless. She found him very attractive, but from what she had heard, she would never stand a remote chance with him. After all, why would he go for the girl who rarely socialized with anyone?

* * *

It sounded creepy, but once his friends found out about his secret obsession, they made sure to find the girl's bookface account to look at the few pictures she had and judge her appropriately.

"She's definitely attractive," Sai commented. "But I've never heard her even mentioned before on campus. She'd probably just bring you down."

"I like her," Naruto grinned. "She was in my Intro to Philosophy class and would always give me copies of her notes when I skipped."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and Naruto laughed nervously.

"But she's yours, man. I swear I won't go after her!"

"Hn."

"Be careful," said Shikamaru. "She might be one of those types that freak out every time a guy talks to them."

"Nah, I don't think so. She sorta has a secret sassy side," Naruto added. "She just doesn't really talk to anyone. She just studies and stuff since she's here on a really big scholarship.

"So she's poor," Sai raised an eyebrow. "Sasuke, are you sure you want to pursue this?"

"We'll see," Sasuke replied cryptically as he walked his way back to the library.

* * *

"My name is Sasuke."

Sakura almost jumped out of her seat before drawing her gaze up to the man standing in front of her, hands resting on the other side of the table. His gaze was smoldering, and she wanted nothing more to break the eye contact.

(but she couldn't)

"I know," she muttered, closing her book and gathering up her things into her backpack.

"You're Sakura, right?" he continued, stepping closer so that she was almost caged in.

She blushed furiously. How did he even know who she was? She was barely a blip on his radar compared to his popularity and influence.

"Y-yeah."

As soon as she saw his lips quirk up into a smirk, she knew she was royally fucked.

Because she really couldn't deny it at that point. There was something about Sasuke, something dangerous and dark that was absolutely magnetic to someone like her. She had never experienced anything remotely similar.

"I guess I'll see you around, then," he said casually before backing away and allowing her to scurry away, staring at her back as she left the library quickly.

He pulled out his phone to find his group message with Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sai.

_I've decided. _

_This year, I'm going to win over Sakura Haruno._

* * *

**I kinda like this plot and I sorta want to continue it. (if any of you guys want this as a multichapter fic, just tell me in a review or something!)**


	25. Day 25: The Other Side of the Wall

**Hopefully I'll finish all the chapters I have left before the month ends! (which is tomorrow haha)**

* * *

Title: Not Like the Movies

Summary: While standing in line at the grocery store, Sakura happens to see a headline that she never expected: "Sasuke Uchiha having a secret love affair with actress Sakura Haruno!"

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: The Other Side of the Wall (day 25)

Rating: M

Warnings: none

* * *

Sakura loved her job. She had always dreamed of being in movies ever since elementary school, and she had only been in Hollywood for a week before she landed one of the most coveted roles of the year in a well-reviewed movie directed by Tsunade, a legend in the movie business. Before, Sakura had only done small parts in indie films, but making it to the big screen was the proudest moment of her life.

She graduated college early in order to make her way to California, telling herself that if she didn't get a role in a month, she would go onto medical school and become the doctor her parents wanted her to be. During her audition for Tsunade's _Immortal Paradise_, she was asked for her background even before she had said a single line, and Tsunade pretty much fell in love with her. (Her stellar acting performance also helped)

Currently, she was up for several awards for the movie and her performance, and even though she probably wouldn't win (It was her first movie! There was no way they'd give it to her!), it was still amazing.

When she went to the grocery store, she had to cover herself pretty well, wearing a hat and sunglasses as she tried to avoid facing others. To be honest, she was terrified of paparazzi. She would hate it if she got some stupid fake news story about her in a gossip magazine.

Strolling over to the line (only one cashier was working, so it was quite long), she sighed at how long she'd likely have to wait. She didn't want her ice cream to start melting, but it looked like it would be mostly liquid by the time she got home.

So, bored as hell, her eyes flitted over to the large display of gossip magazines next to her. She hated them—most of the articles were compete slander and probably weren't even true to begin with.

So-and-so's marriage was falling apart, some poor celebrity was being accused of putting on too much weight, and then of course were the seemingly random combinations of celebrities that the magazine claimed were dating.

Then she happened to see a headline that she never expected.

_"Sasuke Uchiha having a secret love affair with actress Sakura Haruno! Look inside for the dirty details!"_

She loudly gasped, making a few customers give her a weird look.

Sakura snatched it up, flipping through the pages until she landed on the article. There was a surprising amount written, especially considering that she had never met him before in her entire life.

_Rising star Sakura Haruno has been rumored to be seeing heartthrob Sasuke Uchiha, coming over to his apartment and going on romantic dinners. There has been talk that they will soon do a movie together, and we at "Kunoichi Weekly" are certainly excited at that possibility! Is this the next celebrity power couple? Hopefully soon they will admit their flourishing romance to the public soon! We can only imagine how steamy this couple's private life is!_

Sakura was flabbergasted. The rest of the article was just background on each of them, pointing out "all the reasons that Sasuke and Sakura are perfect together!" Begrudgingly, she slipped the magazine into her grocery cart.

She definitely was going to be calling her agent as soon as she got home.

* * *

"Kakashi! What the hell is happening!" Sakura half-yelled into her cell-phone, pacing back and forth in her apartment. "The world suddenly thinks I'm dating this guy that I've never even met! Who started this? How can we fix this?"

_"I mean…I don't know, Sakura." _She imagined him sitting at his desk, legs propped up and smut novel held in his other hand. _"I don't think this is a bad thing. You're definitely going to stay in the public's eye, and you guys do look pretty cute together."_

Sakura sighed. Sasuke was undoubtedly gorgeous, but he had been a famous actor for much longer than her. He came from a family of celebrities and was pretty much raised in the spotlight.

_"You're the first person the media has picked to be with Sasuke. He's been on the 'most eligible bachelors' list for many years, but he has always been single. This is quite the juicy gossip."_

"But it's not true!" she blushed. "I've never met him before, and I probably never will!"

Kakashi laughed awkwardly, instantly making Sakura suspicious.

"Kakashi….just who is Sasuke's agent?"

There was a silence.

"If you don't tell me, I could easily look it up."

_"…..I am."_

She frowned. "So I'm assuming you're behind this."

_"….maybe. But it wasn't entirely on my own…"_

"What's that supposed to mean?"

_"Well it's probably not the best way to be introduced…but Sasuke actually asked me to tell the media. Not sure why, but I can sure guess." _She could almost hear the perverted smile on his face.

It was so strange; Sasuke had always been a very serious actor, and she couldn't imagine getting a peek at the person behind his characters. From what she had heard, no one had broken down his walls before, and he was stoic as hell, much to the gossip magazine's displeasure. (probably why they ate up this story so easily)

_"So I scheduled you to meet him tonight. Dinner at Konoha Palace. Look drop-dead gorgeous, because you better believe you'll have your picture taken."_

"Oh my god, Kakashi! I wouldn't even know where to begin! He knows nothing about me! And he is far too attractive, I'll probably die from embarrassment if I did something stupid!"

_"Trust me, he knows you." _Kakashi laughed. _"In fact, he's been listening in on this call the entire time."_

"You're just bluffing," Sakura huffed. "I'm not going to believe tha-"

_"Hello," _a smooth, deep voice greeted.

Holy shit.

Sakura gaped, finding herself unable to form a response.

_"I'll see you at seven. Look for a limo outside of your apartment," _he stated calmly, as if it was just a normal offer and not completely out of the blue.

Kakashi then ended the call, leaving Sakura standing by herself in her apartment, mouth agape.

She glanced at the clock.

6:20pm.

_Fuck. _She needed to start getting ready as soon as possible, because this very well might be the most important date she would ever go on.

* * *

**Heh. I love writing them as actors. I wrote another chapter similar to this in my Christmas Oneshots fic. **


	26. Day Twenty-six: Staying Warm

**Sorry for this being so late! I've been wildly busy and never got to finish sasusaku month prompts in July**

**This one is kinda stereotypical but whatevah**

* * *

Title: When You Say Nothing At All

Summary: She had been avoiding him since the day he came back, and Sasuke finds himself caring more than he thought he would. All it takes is a snowstorm and only one blanket to share to make him realize what he had felt all along.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Staying Warm (day 26)

Rating: T

Warnings: none

* * *

The night air was freezing, cutting through the regulation Anbu uniforms and causing goosebumps wherever it went. Sakura was miserable, barely being able to feel her exhausted limbs. If this winter storm continued, she was frankly worried about not being able to keep traveling on. Beside her, Sasuke didn't seem affected by the cold at all, even though his expression was hidden behind his mask.

Was he used to it from being so coldhearted all of the time? Sakura almost laughed bitterly to herself at the thought. This mission was the last thing she'd rather be doing, and she hated Naruto for forcing them to go. She had been making a conscious effort to avoid Sasuke since he returned, ignoring the feelings for him that had blossomed once again during the war. When he left the village, she had promised herself that she would give up on the Uchiha completely, instead burying herself in her work and focusing on climbing up ranks in the shinobi system.

But now, what did she have left to accomplish? She had reached Anbu status, was the head medic at the hospital since Tsunade had gone into semi-retirement, and her forehead, once her biggest insecurity, proudly displayed the small diamond mark that represented her newfound reputation as part of the next generation of sannin.

"I think we should stop," Sasuke said quietly, suddenly coming to a halt. "The snow is getting too thick and it would be unwise to continue in the storm."

"We need to find shelter, then," she pointed out, frowning beneath the mask. The last thing she wanted was to share a small place with Sasuke. She could barely handle his presence fifty feet away.

He titled his head towards the right, a cave clearly next to them. She inwardly sighed for not noticing it. _Ugh now I look stupid._

Walking behind him, she pulled off the katanas strapped to her back and unbuttoned the bag on her side to take out the blanket she had.

However, her fingers felt nothing but the weapons and solider pills inside.

_Oh shit._

Once they reached inside, she took off her mask now that the wind wasn't blowing on them. He did the same, and she tried not to stare at his handsome face.

She thankfully succeeded in restraining the blush that threatened to stain her cheeks.

"It wouldn't be wise to start a fire. It could still be seen in the snow," Sakura frowned. They were sitting a few feet away, and she could feel the slight warmth radiating off of him.

_Oh god._

"That's fine. We each brought blankets anyways."

_Shit. Shitshitshitshit._

"Heh…I'm actually not that cold!" Sakura stammered out awkwardly. "I don't think I need my blanket, actually!"

He gave her an incredulous look.

"You're joking."

"Of course not!"

"You forgot your blanket," he stated obviously, making Sakura blush with embarrassment.

"Whatever," she muttered. "I don't need it."

"You're going to compromise our mission if you get sick from the cold."

_Of course that's all he cares about…._

"I won't," Sakura said quickly."

"You can have mine," Sasuke offered, though it came off as more as a command.

"But then you'd get sick," Sakura reasoned. "And you're not a medical ninja."

"Just take it, Sakura," Sasuke growled. "Stop being annoying."

She froze, eyes widening before she quickly composed herself.

"—okay," she said softly, trying not to show how his words clearly hurt her. She had thought they had been over this. That word brought back flashbacks of their genin years, and definitely not the happy memories.

She took the blanket from his hands and wrapped it around her, flinching when their fingers brushed.

"Thank you," she whispered, avoiding eye contact.

Sasuke frowned, though not saying anything. He hated when Sakura got like this. Why did she insist on being difficult?

He thought back to their past. Her confession, her determination to break through his shell, the time he held her so close after she saved him from Kaguya's dimension…..

…the time she held a kunai to his back and reacted so violently, driven by the madness of the sharingan and the frustration of Itachi's death and finding out so much of his life had been a lie.

He noticed her eyes flickering shut, and watched as her lithe body stilled and her breath evened to a comfortable rhythm. He stared at her features, not having been so close in so long. It was strange to see her so grown up, her soft pink hair falling to her shoulders in a choppy cut that suited her so well. Her eyelashes were long and full, her face left bare unlike some other kunoichis that wore makeup even on missions.

Even though the blanket completely covered her, he could imagine the shape of her body underneath, accentuated by the Anbu uniform that in the past he would have never imagined her wearing. She had become the best kunoichi in the village….no…..one of the best shinobi of all time. It was impressive that she could mostly hold her own with Naruto and himself, even though she was hindered by her lack of kekkai genkai.

Under his gaze, she shivered in her sleep, making him realize how much more the cold would affect her since she was much more thin and small than himself.

With some hesitation, he lifted up the side of the blanket, sliding beside her so that her body slightly pressed against his own. Even though she was so cold, she still felt warm against him, reminding him of how long it had allowed someone so close.

It reminded him of his mother, and how she would sleep by his side when he had bad nightmares or felt lonely from his father's criticism.

Did Sakura feel lonely? She was always surrounded by others, but her smiles had been much more faint since he had returned. Was he to blame? He had definitely noticed how she avoided him whenever possible, and he hated to keep asking Naruto how she was doing. It felt desperate, and Sasuke did not like feeling so powerless.

(He didn't realize that every time he asked, Naruto lied when he said that Sakura was doing well)

_Do I…have feelings for Sakura?_

He wasn't the type to show his emotions. Naruto was practically his best friend, and he treated him like shit. Kakashi was one of the few people he confided his past in, and he rarely said hello when passing him on the street. And Sakura…although he treated her with the respect that came with her position, he never returned her waves and usually skipped the team dinners and invitations to go to the bars with the rest of the shinobi he grew up with.

Sakura frowned in her sleep and drew her arms closer. Naruto had told him of how she would have horrible nightmares, and it made sense considering all of the pain and suffering she had both witnessed and experienced. He wonder how many times she had been a hairsbreadth away from death, or how many people she has had die despite her efforts to save them. As shinobi, all of their hands were forever stained with blood, but medical shinobi had to experience the deaths of comrades and those close to them. They had to tell parents that their child has died; they have to break the news to shinobi who are irreparably injured and are forced into early retirement.

"S-Sasuke-" she whispered, and for a second, he thought she was awake and wondered if he should back away. But her eyes were still closed, though her rosy lips were parted slightly and her brow was furrowed. "Don't leave."

_She is just dreaming…dreaming about me?_

In a way, it felt like a victory. She still cared for him, even if she would only admit it subconsciously. However, the underlying sadness behind her admission only made him feel worse.

Sasuke sighed, pulling the other corner of the blanket over him and letting himself enjoy the feeling of her head softly leaning on his shoulder.

Maybe in the morning, he would confront her.

Maybe in the morning, he would be able to convince her to stop being afraid of what could happen between them.

_What had always been destined to happen between them._

* * *

**Some Sunday afternoon fluff. :)**

**Might be posting some short sasusaku oneshots on my tumblr too. Send me any requests! (pluhsauce . tumblr . com) **


	27. Day Twenty-seven: Misguided

**Inspired by this post I saw online somewhere idk**

* * *

Title: Drunk in Love

Summary: Sasuke gets so drunk he can't even recognize his own girlfriend. "No! Stop taking your clothes off! I have a girlfriend!"

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Misguided (day 27)

Rating: M

Warnings: none

* * *

Sakura had been back from her mission by eight and Sasuke was nowhere to be found. She had been confused by his absence, mostly because Sasuke was not the type of person to go out on Saturday nights.

So just suspecting it probably had something to do with Naruto, she made sure to wash away the dirt and blood caked onto her skin, slather on some nice perfumed lotion, and putting on a cute pajama set Ino had gotten her for her last birthday.

She made dinner. She cleaned up their apartment. She put away the leftover food. She read a few mission scrolls.

A knock on the door interrupted her, and she rushed to it, wondering why Sasuke just didn't open it with his key.

She was surprised to come face-to-face with Suigetsu.

"Your boyfriend is too drunk and won't listen to anyone. Can you pick him up from the bar? I don't think he would appreciate being knocked out and dragged back home," he said hurriedly. Sakura scowled. Sasuke rarely drank, and rivaled Rock Lee with his lack of alcohol tolerance.

"What an idiot," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Hold on…let me just put on some real clothes."

Suigetsu, despite the situation, cocked a lecherous smirk. "Mind if I watch?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're waiting outside. I don't think Sasuke would appreciate you propositioning me."

The water ninja's eyes widened. The last time he had hit on Sakura, which included a surprise ass slap and a few NC-17 comments, Sasuke had challenged him to a training session and basically beat him to near-death. "Nevermind."

So Sakura slid on some of her civilian clothing, just a simple cropped tank top and a short skirt.

Leaving for the bar with Suigetsu, she had a feeling that Sasuke would not be happy tomorrow morning.

(and she certainly wasn't going to offer to heal any headaches)

* * *

When she came in the bar, Naruto immediately waved her over to his table, Sasuke looking like a disheveled mess next to him. Sakura wasn't going to lie; she found him the hottest when his hair was all ruffled up and imperfect. However, she wouldn't think about that now.

She had business to take care of.

"Sasuke Uchiha," she said sternly. "You're coming with me."

"Wha—are you the…police? Am I being arrrrrested?" Sasuke slurred out, Naruto sheepishly giggling at his friend's antics.

"Sorry, Sakura," he apologized. "I probably shouldn't of challenged him to a drinking contest."

She put her hands on her hips. "It's fine Naruto. It's not like you forced him."

Naruto chose to not answer that, face guilty.

"_Sasuke_," Sakura continued, pulling his arm so that he was standing up (or rather trying his hardest to). He didn't put up a fight, but his eyes were a tad unfocused as he squinted to take in his surroundings. "Do I have to pick you up?"

"Wh-"

Sakura slung him over one of her small shoulders easily thanks to her legendary strength. Several shinobi that were watching the scene broke down laughing at the sight.

"Goodnight Naruto. Suigetsu," Sakura nodded, her expression dark. This is not how she wanted to spend her night. She had just gotten back from a two week long mission, and had hurried as fast as she could just so she could get back to her boyfriend, take a shower, and have some nice welcome-home sex.

But no, Sasuke had to go and get piss drunk with his friends.

(granted, she did come home a day earlier than expected, so it wasn't entirely his fault)

She ran home, Sasuke not really putting up a fight at all. It was actually rather dangerous. He could've easily been kidnapped or hurt, even though there were definitely not very many shinobi that would have the guts to do so.

"We're home, Sasuke," she grumbled as she unlocked the door and threw the keys violently onto the couch. He slumped off of her shoulder, and she let him lie down on the ground as she opened the bedroom door and cleared the things off of the bed.

She heard a clanging noise in the kitchen.

_What the f—_

Running over, she caught Sasuke with a sake bottle to his lips and she gave him her most incredulous stare.

"What are you doing?!"

"Gettin' some more," he said matter-of-factly. Sakura ripped the bottle out of his hands, tempted to down the rest of it herself (though it definitely took her a few bottles to feel any sort of buzz, thanks to years of drinking with Tsunade)

"You're going to bed."

He furrowed his brow. "Wait, we can't d-"

She picked him up and led him to the bedroom, throwing him down on the soft bed and trying to ignore how sexy he looked with his clothes all wrinkled. His shirt had rode up, exposing his toned midsection and a wide expanse of pale skin.

"Sasuke…" she said slowly, her mood changing for the better. "I'll forgive you, you'll just have to do me a favor."

"Wha-? Why?" he responded, confused.

Sakura got on the bed herself and began pulling off her shirt, revealing her deceivingly innocent looking bra that just so happened to match her panties as well.

"No! Stop taking your clothes off!" Sasuke practically screamed. "I have a girlfriend!"

Sakura froze, her shirt falling back in place. "What did you just say?"

"I have a girlfriend, and she's the only person I want to have sex with!" he protested violently, making Sakura laugh so hard her sides hurt.

After she calmed down, she had an idea.

"Just how much do you like your girlfriend?"

"I love her," he said as if stating the obvious. Sakura flushed, not used those words.

"Is she pretty?"

"Obviously," he snorted. "Our babies are going to be gorgeous."

She smiled softly. It was the first time he had ever mentioned kids, even though she always assumed he was strongly considering it.

"So are you guys going to get married soon?" she asked a bit nervously.

"Yeah, I'm asking her as soon as she gets back from her mission," he nodded seriously. "Tonight was sorta my unofficial bachelor party….Naruto's idea."

Sakura stiffened. "R-really?"

"Duh," he answered, making her laugh again at the whole ridiculousness of the situation.

"You get some sleep, Sasuke," she told him gently. "I'll make sure to not tell your girlfriend and ruin the surprise."

"You better not."

* * *

That night, Sakura could barely sleep, choosing to lie on the couch as she let Sasuke hog up the bed with his drunken snoring.

She couldn't help but break into a grin every time she thought of their short conversation. It was strange to have Sasuke be so open with her, since he normally never talked that much.

And as much as she wanted to scold Naruto for this whole situation, she couldn't help but be grateful.

She was definitely going to be telling this story on their honeymoon.


End file.
